Govt must make way for the Opposition, start negotiations, says Fawad Chaudhry

• Fawad Chaudhry said the government should talk to the Opposition after their failure at the Lahore jalsa
• The narrative of the Opposition has died, the federal minister said
• Mahmood Khan Achakzai should be removed from PDM for his anti-Punjab sentiments

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry suggested on Monday that the government should hold talks with the Opposition.

"The narrative of the Opposition has died after yesterday's jalsa in Lahore," he said, adding that it is high time the government paved way for the Opposition and started negotiations with them.

'Mahmood Khan Achakzai is an anti-Punjab character'

Fawad Chaudhry, alongside Prime Minister's aide Shahbaz Gill, also held a press conference on Monday where he said that Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai is an anti-Punjab character who spoke ill of Lahoris in front of the people of Punjab. 

"Mahmood Khan Achakzai is not only anti-Pakistan himself but his father, Samad Khan Achakzai, also worked for the Congress during the pre-partition era," he said. "He came to Lahore only to speak against Punjab."

The Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party's chief had accused the people of Lahore for siding with the British, along with Hindus and Sikhs, during the pre-partition era.

"I am not here to accuse anyone, but I am sorry to say that the people of Lahore tried to occupy the Afghan territory together with the British, Sikhs and the Hindus," Achakzai had said.

Chaudhry added that PPP and PML-N are to be blamed for allowing Achakzai, a "foreign agent" to utter disrespectful words against Punjabis and Lahoris while standing in their own land.

"PDM's silence has broken the hearts of Lahoris, Punjabis, as well as Pakistanis. PML-N has backstabbed Punjab before too so it's not surprising," he said.

Earlier in the day, Fawad Chaudhry had taken to Twitter and wrote that Achakzai should have accepted his failure at the Minar-e-Pakistan jalsa but decided not to because of his arrogance.

Read more: Fawad Chaudhry slams calls for 'hanging rapists'

Chaudhry called Achakzai 'ignorant' and questioned his loyalties to the country.

"Achakzai does not even know that every movement for democracy in Pakistan started from Lahore," Chaudhry wrote on Twitter.

Read more: Will never compromise on democratic values: Mahmood Khan Achakzai

'Maryam Nawaz's speech had no agenda at PDM jalsa'

During the press briefing, Minister Fawad Chaudhry also said that PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz's speech at the PDM jalsa on Sunday had no agenda.

"She only talked about herself, her father, her family, and how Imran Khan is bad, and that's about it," he said.