Sparks flew in the National Assembly on Monday as the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) locked horns over pressing issues ahead of the third round of talks scheduled for January 16 .

Defense Minister Khawaja Asif questioned the sincerity of the former ruling party and cast doubt on the prospects for a meaningful dialogue and the necessity of continuing the dialogue.

The heated exchanges between the two sides began when Leader of the Opposition in NA Omar Ayub Khan raised concerns over the government’s inaction on critical issues, including the alleged killing of 13 people by sniper fire on November 26 in Blue Area, Islamabad, for which no one commission has so far been appointed.

The opposition leader also claimed that 9 May prisoners in military custody had been subjected to severe torture.

In a pointed remark, he asked whether ministers were preparing sentences in the £190m corruption reference against PTI founder Imran Khan, his wife and others as they commented on the case despite the sentence being adjourned for the third time. He wondered if the ministers had written the judgment.

Speaking on another matter, Ayub criticized the government’s priorities and pointed out that a case regarding Al-Qadir University had been filed. He said Khan built universities and hospitals and argued that investigations should focus on PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s Avenfield flats located in London.

In response, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif criticized the opposition for using question time in the assembly to make speeches instead of raising substantive issues. The defense minister questioned whether negotiations with the opposition were even possible given their behaviour, adding: “I am often accused of opposing negotiations, but how can negotiations take place under such behaviour.”

While questioning the sincerity of the opposition’s intention to negotiate, the defense minister argued that their behavior made constructive dialogue difficult. Asif said the government would not bow to pressure and urged the opposition to address their concerns through appropriate channels.

He further stated that if parliament is to function, it must function according to established rules. Asif added that neither the government nor anyone else should succumb to blackmail by the opposition, saying “their [opposition’s] intentions are not genuine.”

He recalled that PTI was questioning the government’s authority to negotiate till just a few days ago and lamented the opposition if it wanted to talk to the powerful stakeholder then it should go ahead.

During the session, members of the Sunni Ittehad Council, under whose banner PTI lawmakers participate in Parliament, staged continuous protests. They chanted slogans saying “Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong” a phrase which was recently used by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a speech to describe some protesters.

Meanwhile, PTI MNA Iqbal Afridi tried to disrupt the proceedings by pointing out lack of quorum, but the required number of members were found present, allowing the session to continue. The session then continued as the government and opposition continued to trade barbs.

The slugfest in NA has come on the heels of government and opposition sides accusing each other of delaying talks.

In the first two meetings between the government and the PTI, the government required the PTI to put its demands in writing before progress could be made. While the PTI verbally outlined its key demands – the release of party founder Imran Khan, detained workers and supporters and the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the incidents of May 9 and November 26 – the government remained unresponsive.

The PTI in turn informed the government that the finalization of its charter of demands was impossible without the input of Imran Khan. The lack of a meeting between Khan and the PTI negotiating committee became a major issue, prolonging the impasse. This impasse continued for days until January 12, when the PTI committee was finally allowed to meet the party chief in Adiala jail.

Despite talks beginning on December 23 aimed at resolving contentious issues, talks have yet to move beyond optics.

Meanwhile, NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq called the third meeting of the government and PTI negotiating committees on January 16 (Thursday). The NA secretariat has issued a summons to the meeting of the negotiating committees, where PTI must present its written charter of demands during the meeting.

According to a statement issued by the Speaker’s Office, the meeting between the government and the PTI negotiating committees will be held on Thursday at 11:30 in the parliament. Originally, the date for the negotiation committee meeting was 15 January, but later changed to 16 January according to the wishes of the members.