‘It takes two to tango’: govt still ready to hold talks with PTI, says PM Shehbaz

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday blamed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for failure in talks between the government and the opposition party in three sittings, adding the ruling party was still ready to continue talks with it.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting today, PM Shehbaz said the government genuinely accepted the PTI’s offer for talks, constituted a committee, and initiated dialogue with the help of National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.

“It takes two to tango,” the prime minister said, adding a meeting was supposed to be convened on January 28, but “PTI refused the talks and ran away”, he blamed.

“Our members told them that the government was ready to present a response in writing, and invited them to come to the table again.”

The prime minister added Pakistan cannot afford any kind of unrest and anarchy, saying that dialogue is the only way to proceed further and put the country on path of development.

PM Shehbaz’s statement comes after the PTI skipped the forth round of talks with the government on January 28.

Speaking to the media after the PTI did not show up, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said the committee would remain in tact.

The NA Speaker insisted that his doors remained open and expressed hope that the opposition would hold talks to find a way forward.

He reiterated that the Speaker’s Office will always remain open for both the government and the opposition, saying the need of the hour is that dialogue is the only way forward and resolve the issues.

“In talks, no one sets any precondition. The right approach is to engage in dialogue and reach a decision thorough deliberations, but what PTI did was entirely strange,” he remarked.

The PTI announced to boycott the crucial talks with the government as the jailed party founding chairman Imran Khan ordered to halt the parleys after the government failed to form judicial commissions to probe into the events of May 9, 2023 and November 28, 2024.

PTI rejects PM’s offer for talks

Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has rejected the prime minister’s offer for talks.

During an informal interaction with the government, Barrister Gohar said the government pulled out of negotiations.

“We had put forward only two demands: release of political prisoners and formation of judicial commissions for May 9, and November 26 events,” he said, adding that the government shut the door for talks by not accepting these demands.