The federal government on Friday formed a seven-member committee to hold dialogue with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and other opposition parties ahead of JUI-F's planned Azadi March-cum-sit-in. The committee has been formed by Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan, it is learnt.

It includes the defense minister himself as head of the committee, Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser, Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood, Religious Affairs Minister Noor ul Haq Qadri and MNA Asad Umar. The committee has been mandated to hold dialogue with opposition parties in general and JUI-F in particular as part of the PTI-led federal government's push to avert the latter's Azadi March on October 31.

A PTI leader told Business Recorder that the PM decided to give a go-ahead to the defense minister to form the seven-member committee after meeting a delegation of religious figures on Friday, who advised the PM to adopt the approach of consultation instead of confrontation in dealing with the looming crisis. A few days back, the PM assigned the defense minister to initiate dialogue with JUI-F. However, JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman has rejected the government's dialogue offer saying there would bee no possibility of negotiations till the PM resigns, a demand the PTI is unwilling to entertain.

The religious figures in Friday meeting assured the PM to play their role in convincing Fazl to soften his stance regarding PM's resignation, the source said. Alongside the dialogue, the PM and federal government functionaries have continued strong criticism of Fazl and his protest plans in what appears to be the 'carrot and stick policy' followed by the federal government.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019