LAHORE, Pakistan: The federal minister for planning and development Ahsan Iqbal has expressed hope that progress will be made in talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as the two sides have agreed to come back to the negotiating table following a deadlock.
The federal government on Wednesday extended an unconditional dialogue to the PTI and also appealed to Imran Khan to withdraw his shutdown call.
Later, in a statement the PTI spokesperson Shireen Mazari welcomed the government’s unconditional offer of dialogue to the party and said that the dialogue process should be started from the point where it was stopped.
The PTI Chairman Imran Khan also said while addressing participants of his ongoing sit-in at D-Chowk in Islamabad that he will call off his ‘plan C’ if government is ready to set up a judicial commission before the PTI’s call to shutdown Karachi on December 12.
However, he added that the Islamabad sit-in will continue until the decision of the commission.
The federal government has nominated two-member negotiating team comprising the federal finance minister Ishaq Dar and Ahsan Iqbal while Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Asad Umar will represent the PTI in the dialogue.
Talking to newsmen in Lahore on Thursday, the minister for planning and development expressed hope that the political crisis in the country would be resolved through talks with the PTI.
Iqbal said that the talks had been suspended on PTI’s unreasonable demand for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s resignation and now as the party has withdrawn its demand, progress in negotiations could be expected.
“The government desires to reach a breakthrough in the political impasse as early as possible,” the minister said.
The minister urged the PTI leadership to demonstrate seriousness to resolve the issue so that the country could move forward speedily on the path of progress and prosperity.
In addition, he emphasized political maturity and tolerance for bringing political stability in the country which he described as a prerequisite to economic progress.
