Govt, PTI explore dialogue as NA speaker skips proceedings against Waqas

• NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq stresses need for political engagement.
• PPP's Naveed Qamar urges PTI to resort to political options.
• PTI’s parliamentary part overwhelmingly supports dialogue.
  

ISLAMABAD: In a significant political development, representatives of the federal government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) held a meeting at the National Assembly Speaker’s Office on Wednesday, where both sides discussed the possibility of dialogue — with the speaker skipping a disciplinary vote against PTI’s Waqas Akram Shaikh as a goodwill gesture.

Sources revealed that Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, alongside Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, accommodated PTI's delegation by withholding a resolution to penalise Shaikh for his over 40-day absence from the House.

The move was seen as an attempt to ease tensions ahead of potential negotiations.

During the meeting, the speaker reportedly emphasised the need for political engagement. Tarar and Chaudhry also supported, while the PTI side was also keen and assured that they would discuss the matter with their parliamentary party and other leaders. They assured they would get back on this.

Meanwhile, senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Syed Naveed Qamar also approached PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and former speaker Asad Qaiser on the opposition benches, urging them to resort to political options so that the PPP could help them.

At the Speaker's Office, while both sides favour the talks’ option, sources confirmed that any formal process would require approval from jailed PTI founder Imran Khan, who has been resisting engagement with the government parties.

Interestingly, the PTI’s parliamentary party in its meeting on Wednesday overwhelmingly supported dialogue, a source said, adding, "But the final call rests with Imran Khan".

Government allies, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP, have privately conveyed to PTI leaders their readiness to help the party in normalising its politics, which is considered possible only through structured dialogue.

In the past, PTI missed repeated opportunities of dialogue because of Imran Khan's rigidity to hold dialogue only with the establishment, which has not been interested to engage.

Originally published in The News