In a significant political development, representatives from the federal government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) met at the National Assembly Speaker’s Office on Wednesday to discuss the possibility of dialogue. As a gesture of goodwill, the speaker postponed a disciplinary vote against PTI’s Waqas Akram Shaikh.
According to sources, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, joined by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, accommodated the PTI delegation by holding back a resolution that would have penalized Shaikh for his absence of over 40 days from the House. This move was seen as an effort to ease tensions before potential negotiations.
During the meeting, the speaker reportedly emphasized the importance of political engagement, a sentiment supported by both Tarar and Chaudhry. The PTI delegation also expressed interest in the talks and promised to consult with their parliamentary party and other leaders before responding.
In a related move, senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Syed Naveed Qamar also reached out to PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and former speaker Asad Qaiser on the opposition benches, encouraging them to pursue political solutions with the PPP’s support.
While both sides at the Speaker’s Office favor talks, sources confirmed that any formal process would require approval from the jailed PTI founder Imran Khan, who has consistently resisted engaging with the government parties.
Interestingly, sources revealed that the PTI’s parliamentary party overwhelmingly supported the idea of dialogue during its Wednesday meeting, but they reiterated that “the final call rests with Imran Khan.” Government allies, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP, have privately conveyed to PTI leaders their willingness to help normalize the party’s political standing, which they believe is only possible through structured dialogue. In the past, PTI has missed numerous opportunities for talks due to Imran Khan’s firm stance on only negotiating with the establishment, which has shown no interest in such engagement.
