ISLAMABAD: After months of reluctance and repeated invitations from the prime minister, opposition leader in National Assembly Mehmood Khan Achakzai on Monday finally signalled his readiness to visit the Prime Minister’s House for talks, offering to help steer the country out of its mounting crises.
The apparent thaw was announced by Akhunzada Hussain Yousafzai, spokesperson for Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Aain-e-Pakistan (TTAP), an alliance of major opposition parties headed by Achakzai, who said the opposition leader had once again called for serious negotiations with the government.
In a statement, Yousafzai said Achakzai was ready to visit the Prime Minister’s House and meet the prime minister, signalling that the door to dialogue remained open despite the political friction between the two sides.
But the offer came with a sharp political jab at Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, whom the TTAP spokesman accused of being unaware of the basic points of the proposed government-opposition negotiations.
He said the information minister should have consulted Rana Sanaullah and Tariq Fazal Chaudhry before commenting on the matter.
He also proposed that Tarar seek clarification from Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar to establish the facts and determine which side had walked away from the dialogue process.
Reiterating Achakzai’s willingness to engage, he said the objective of the proposed talks was to help resolve the crises confronting the country.
No date has been announced for the proposed meeting, leaving it unclear when the renewed offer might translate into an actual encounter at the Prime Minister’s House.
Achakzai had previously appeared reluctant to accept the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s repeated invitations to discuss the political and other challenges facing the country.
His latest expression of willingness to meet marks a possible opening for dialogue, though the exchange of barbs suggests that considerable mistrust remains between the government and the opposition.
The proposed meeting between Achakzai and Sharif comes amid a fresh political storm following the imposition of emergency in 12 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and governor’s rule in the province.
The developments have escalated an already fraught confrontation between the federal government and the PTI-led provincial government, which commands a two-thirds majority in the provincial assembly.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026