National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq. PHOTO: FACEBOOK
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reportedly given the go-ahead to National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to continue talks between the government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), sources said on Wednesday, a significant development in efforts to cool political temperatures.
Parliamentary sources said the government side has agreed to participate in the talks at the speaker’s request. However, discussions will only take place with PTI’s elected officials, while no engagement with unelected party figures is planned.
Despite the government’s readiness, the sources said, no PTI leader has yet formally approached the Speaker’s office to begin the negotiation process and initial outreach efforts are still pending from the opposition.
Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, meanwhile, has maintained the existing parliamentary committee structure. The sources said that if the opposition signals willingness, the speaker is prepared to immediately call a meeting of the committee to begin formal discussions.
Despite the speaker’s previous invitation, there has so far been no contact from the opposition benches. The speaker has already offered PTI the opportunity to participate in the proceedings in his parliamentary chamber.
The last formal interaction between PTI representatives and the Speaker took place in connection with the nomination of Mahmood Khan Achakzai as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly.
