Lahore: As the government and the opposition are set to enter the final round of election talks, PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday wondered why PML-N leaders Khawaja Asif and JavedLatif were becoming a hindrance in the ongoing dialogue.

His remarks come hours after PML-N’s Javed Latif expressed his disapproval towards the government-PTI dialogue, saying that talks should never be held with “terrorists” and those who “want to destroy national institutions”. Talks between the government and the PTI commenced last week on the advice of the Supreme Court, bringing an end to a long-time deadlock.After two rounds of talks, the parties are now expected to hold the final round of negotiations tomorrow (Tuesday). The “almost final round” of negotiations — which were earlier scheduled for 11am — will be held at the Senate Secretariat at 9pm.However, cha¬nces that the dialogue will yield positive results are starting to look “very slim” as PTI Chairman Imran Khan has demanded the dissolution of the National Assembly by May 14 to pave the way for a successful outcome of talks. The government has termed Imran’s ultimatum “imp¬racticable” and asked him to be more flexible for the success of this dialogue bet¬ween the two sides.

A day earlier, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that he does not see a “positive outcome” of the talks. “What will be the result of the negotiations with the PTI as they are setting conditions,” he said.PML-N Secretary General and Federal Minister for Development Ahsan Iqbal also said: “We want to tell Imran Khan that he cannot hold talks at gunpoint. The first condition of talks is, there are no pre-conditions.

Mr Khan is so desperate that he wants his way or the highway.” Talking to the media during a PTI rally in Lahore today, Qureshi asserted that he was prepared to attend the third round of talks tomorrow (May 2).

Published in The Daily National Courier, May, 02 2023

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