Says PTI, the largest party in the opposition alliance, has reservations about the invitation
ISLAMABAD:
An opposition party’s alliance – Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ain Pakistan (TTAP) – has refused to attend a conference organized by former PTI leaders in view of PTI leadership’s reservations.
According to reports, the National Dialogue Committee – a forum headed by former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry – contacted the TTAP on Sunday and invited it to participate in the National Dialogue Conference scheduled for January 7. However, the movement refused to participate.
Political parties including PML-N, PPP, PTI, JUI-F, JI, MQM-P, PML-Q, BAP, ANP and others must be invited to the conference.
A TTAP spokesperson said an invitation to the conference was received, but the lack of confidence in the PTI – the main stakeholder – makes the conference meaningless. “Therefore, [the TTP’s] participation in the conference will not be possible,” he said.
In a renewed bid to ease escalating political tensions in the country, the NDC announced on Saturday that it would convene a major national consultative conference in Islamabad on January 7 with the aim of creating space for dialogue amid a deepening political impasse.
Speaking to The Express Pakinomist, Fawad Chaudhry said that the initiative is focused on lowering the political temperature rather than conducting negotiations on behalf of any political party.
Referring to the agenda, he said the committee believes that confidence building must begin with humanitarian relief, especially for women and political workers incarcerated in Kot Lakhpat Jail.
“If the government and the establishment offer relief to these prisoners, it will help create an atmosphere for negotiations. Only then can we approach Imran Khan and convey that the other side is willing to open talks and ask him to reciprocate,” he said.
Chaudhry said the invitations have been extended to political parties across the spectrum, as well as lawyers, intellectuals, parliamentarians and political thinkers who broadly support dialogue.
He also weighed in on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s planned visit to Karachi amid criticism that PTI is simultaneously assigning TTAP a role in the dialogue while announcing a street movement.
“Afridi has no alternative. What option does he have? There is no room for dialogue because the government has so far done nothing to show seriousness or willingness to initiate talks.”
The NDC was recently formed by a group of PTI defectors, including Fawad Chaudhry, Imran Ismail and Mahmood Maulvi, all of whom held key positions under PTI rule. The committee has positioned itself as a bridge-building forum that aims to pull the country out of prolonged political paralysis.
