In the midst of changing attitudes towards Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) on negotiations with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) -Led coalition government, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that avoiding dialogue was an indemocratic attitude that damaged the national unit.

The Prime Minister said that communication and dialogue between political parties was the soul of democracy, adding that these communication helped develop a common strategy to solve problems facing the country and the nation.

The Prime Minister’s statement came on the heels of PTI’s decision to originally boycott the negotiations and then link them to the ruling Alliance’s announcement to establish two separate judicial commissions to investigate May 9, 2023 and November 26, 2024 incidents.

It also came at a time when the PTI management has already announced that it would not participate in the fourth round of the negotiations planned to be held on January 28 (today) if its claims were not accepted. The government has not yet accepted any of PTI’s claims, including the release of political prisoners.

“To avoid dialogue reflects an undemocratic attitude, promotes an environment with excitement and damages the spirit of national unity,” Shehbaz said at a meeting with spokesman for the government’s negotiating committee, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, in the Prime Minister’s office.

Shehbaz emphasized that Pakistan required reconciliation and harmony rather than chaos, confrontation and conflict. He emphasized the importance of adopting a unified strategy of tackling critical issues, such as reconstruction of the national economy and the eradication of terrorism.

The prime minister also declared that the country went on and its global stature improved. “No one is allowed to prevent this journey with development and progress through undemocratic practice,” Shehbaz said.

Senator Siddiqui had called on the Prime Minister to inform him of the negotiations held with the PTI Committee so far. The government and the opposition have so far held three rounds with conversations, including their virgin parley’s December 23, 2024.

The first two meetings could not go beyond optics, but at the third meeting PTI finally submitted in charter for government requirements. The PTI negotiation committee presented the requirements only after their meeting with the prison PTI founder Imran Khan in the Adiala prison.

The PTI -Charter included two main requirements – formation of two judicial commissions; and “support” of the federal and provincial governments of bail, judgment suspensions and acquittal of “political prisoners” identified by PTI.

The PTI -Charter had stated that the requirements were presented as a “prerequisite for broader negotiations with regard to the restoration of the Constitution, the rule of law, respect for people’s mandate and free and fair elections”.

Seven days after the third round, however, the PTI founder suddenly interrupted the dialogue, on the grounds that the government had not accepted its demands within a week. However, Siddiqui had called the unilateral decision that boycotted to boycott lectures “unlucky”.

Siddiqui had said that PTI itself was agreed in the joint statement that was issued after the third meeting that the government would respond to its demands within “seven working days.” He had subsequently called on PTI to review his decision.

A day after announcing the end of the negotiations, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan deviated from his previous statement and said IMRAN KAN had put the negotiations on waiting, adding that PTI could only mulch over the negotiations if the government was constituted the legal commissions.

Despite PTI’s announcement of boycott, the National Assembly’s speeches Ayaz Sadiq convened a meeting of the Negotiating Committee on January 28 (today) at 1 p.m. 11.45 in the House of Parliament. Siddiqui had told the media that the government’s response would be presented at the meeting.

On his part, Ayaz Sadiq, who is the main figure in these conversations, called the PTI negotiation committee’s leader Omar Ayub and invited him to the meeting with the government on Tuesday (today).

In his conversation, the speaker emphasized that dialogue was the only viable solution to solve all problems, emphasizing the importance of finding a common reason for disputed problems through table negotiations and negotiations.

Ayub expressed concern about the government’s use of delaying tactics to tackle PTI’s demands. He insisted that the negotiations could not continue without the formation of the judicial commissions who remained a critical demand from PTI.

In a comment on this development, the Government Committee, Senator Siddiqui, told a private news channel that the government would also dissolve its negotiating committee if PTI did not attend the next meeting.

Currently, both sides emphasize the importance of dialogue, but at the same time stick to their respective preconditions; resulting in a stalemate. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar repeated on Monday that they would not participate in conversations and that the decision had officially been communicated.