The government on Thursday renewed its invitation to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf for dialogue, while reiterating that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s earlier offer of talks to Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai remains on the table, signalling flexibility on a long-standing point of contention by offering to hold negotiations at a venue proposed by the opposition.
The development followed a meeting between National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and PTI Chief Whip Amir Dogar at Parliament House. Afterward, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said in a statement on X that both the government’s invitation to PTI and the prime minister’s invitation to the opposition leader remain valid, urging the opposition to take the offer seriously. He said meaningful dialogue was the only way to resolve political issues, and that negotiations could now be held at a venue of the opposition’s choosing.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan spokesperson Yousafzai said Dogar had briefed him on the meeting with the Speaker, which focused on three issues: the schedule for the next National Assembly session, the government’s renewed dialogue offer, and the Speaker’s request for the opposition to return to parliamentary committees. Yousafzai said the opposition alliance had made clear that the decision to boycott those committees was taken by PTI founder Imran Khan and could only be reversed by him, adding that the alliance’s leadership was not authorised to change that decision independently.
The venue has been a recurring sticking point since talks between the two sides stalled earlier this year. The government had previously proposed the Prime Minister’s House as the venue, a location PTI and TTAP leaders rejected, insisting any dialogue take place inside Parliament. Thursday’s statement from Chaudhry marks the government’s clearest concession yet on that issue.
Responding to the offer, Yousafzai said the government should have accepted the opposition’s position on the venue months ago, arguing that doing so would have prevented a prolonged deadlock in the dialogue process. He said the opposition alliance remains ready for negotiations if the government is sincere, but stressed that opposition leaders must first be allowed to meet Imran Khan before formal talks can begin. “How can we negotiate with the government without consulting our leader?” he said, adding that access to Khan would serve as a confidence-building measure, allowing opposition leaders to discuss the agenda with him and seek his guidance on the evolving political situation.
Yousafzai said the opposition has already shared its agenda with the government, and maintained that the proposed negotiations are aimed at resolving political issues rather than securing any power-sharing arrangement.
TTAP, the PTI-aligned alliance that now represents the opposition in negotiations, formally authorised Achakzai, the sitting Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, and Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to lead any talks with the government earlier this year, after Imran Khan delegated that authority to them.
