Govt, PTI talks underway at Parliament House to discuss elections stalemate

The government and the PTI representatives met on Thursday at the Parliament House in Islamabad to resolve the impasse regarding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Aaj News reported.

Video footage shared by the state-run PTV News showed PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and party leader Ali Zafar meeting the government representatives at the Parliament House.

The coalition government is represented by Ishaq Dar, Saad Rafique, Naveed Qamar, Yousuf Raza Gilani, Azam Nazeer Tarar, and Kishwar Zahra while the PTI delegation is represented by Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhry, and Barrister Ali Zafar.

During the first round of the talks, both sides are expected to settle on the terms of reference (ToRs).

The development comes hours after Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial remarked that the top court could not force the government to hold dialogue with the opposition.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has welcomed the Supreme Court's gesture in today's hearing, saying the top court did not impose any deadlines on the government, which was a positive sign.

Speaking about Punjab elections, the PDM chief said the Supreme Court had been adamant about holding elections in Punjab in 90 days without considering the repercussions.

"Holding split elections would cause anarchy in the country and pose a threat to the federation," he said.

Earlier, the top court had ordered the attorney general to file a progress report on April 27 (today) regarding political dialogue for holding elections simultaneously of the National Assembly and all the provincial assemblies.

The apex court had asked all political parties to come up with a consensus on the date for holding simultaneous general elections quickly, otherwise, the court noted, its order regarding the Punjab Assembly elections on May 14 would come into force.

The issue of elections has been a contentious and controversial one ever since the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies were dissolved earlier this year.

While the PTI has called for polls in the two provinces to be held as soon as possible, the government wants elections to the National Assembly and all provinces to be held at the same time later in the year.

A Supreme Court verdict earlier directed that elections for Punjab and KP be held on May 14, and it had also ordered the government to give the ECP Rs21 billion for this purpose.