PTI, the largest party in the opposition alliance, has reservations about the invitation
ISLAMABAD:
An alliance of opposition parties – Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ain Pakistan (TTAP) – refused to participate in a conference organized by former PTI leaders due to reservations from the PTI leadership.
According to reports, the National Dialogue Committee – a forum headed by former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry – contacted TTAP on Sunday and invited it to participate in the National Dialogue Conference scheduled for January 7. However, the movement refused to attend.
Political parties including PML-N, PPP, PTI, JUI-F, JI, MQM-P, PML-Q, BAP, ANP and others should be invited to the conference.
A TTAP spokesperson said an invitation had been received for the conference, but the failure to gain the trust of the PTI – the most important stakeholder – rendered the conference meaningless. “SO, [the TTP’s] participation in the conference will not be possible,” he said.
In a renewed attempt to ease growing political tensions in the country, the NDC announced on Saturday that it would convene a major national consultative conference in Islamabad on January 7, aimed at creating space for dialogue amid growing political impasse.
Speaking to The Express PK Press Club, Fawad Chaudhry said the initiative was aimed at lowering the political temperature rather than conducting negotiations on behalf of a political party.
Talking about the agenda, he said the committee believes that confidence building must start with humanitarian assistance, especially for women and political workers incarcerated in Kot Lakhpat jail.
“If the government and the establishment provide relief to these prisoners, it will help create a conducive atmosphere for negotiations. Only then can we approach Imran Khan and make him understand that the other side is ready to start talks and ask him to reciprocate,” he said.
Chaudhry said invitations had been extended to political parties of all stripes, as well as lawyers, intellectuals, parliamentarians and political thinkers broadly supportive of dialogue.
He also weighed in on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s planned visit to Karachi, amid criticism that the PTI is simultaneously giving TTAP a role in dialogue while announcing a street movement.
“Afridi has no alternative. What option does he have? There is no space for dialogue because the government has so far done nothing to demonstrate its seriousness or willingness to enter into talks.”
The NDC was formed recently by a group of PTI defectors, including Fawad Chaudhry, Imran Ismail and Mahmood Maulvi, all of whom held key positions during the PTI regime. The committee positioned itself as a bridge-building forum aimed at leading the country out of prolonged political paralysis.
