Govt ‘open’ to political, institutional reforms but no talks on Feb 8 polls

• Govt open to discussing reforms, rule of law: sources.
• Say poll grievances to stay with tribunals and courts.
• “TTAP is open to talks, but PTI says it will not”.

ISLAMABAD: Even as opposition parties signal readiness for dialogue on national issues, the government has conveyed to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership that the February 8, 2024, general elections will remain off the table in any dialogue process, well-placed sources told this correspondent.

According to the sources, the government has made it clear that there will be no negotiations on rejecting the 2024 elections, forming a commission on last year’s polls, or handing over power to the opposition through talks.

Any grievances related to the polls, the sources said, will continue to be addressed strictly through election tribunals and courts, whose verdicts would be accepted even if they go entirely against the ruling parties.

The message, conveyed to PTI’s senior leadership, has been conveyed to the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan (TTAP), the opposition alliance led by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, sources said.

Government reportedly told the PTI that reopening the 2024 elections would inevitably raise questions about earlier polls, including those held in 2018 and even prior elections, which the government considers neither practical nor politically viable.

However, the government has expressed willingness to engage in dialogue on institutional and constitutional reforms, national political issues, strengthening of Parliament, rule of law, and broader democratic reforms, the sources added. Talks on political prisoners and other national-level concerns could also be considered within constitutional limits.

On the sensitive issue of May 9 violence and cases linked to attacks on military installations, sources said the matter was not solely within the government’s authority. Any relief or resolution, they indicated, would involve stakeholders beyond the civilian government, noting that the military’s position on May 9 has already been publicly articulated and remains firm.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, when contacted by The News, confirmed that messages had been received by the PTI from the government but declined to comment on their substance.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday again offered talks to the PTI, stressing that negotiations could only take place on “legitimate demands” and warning that “blackmailing under the guise of dialogue will not work.”

TTAP leaders responded cautiously but positively. They announced that the alliance was open to talks on national issues and constitutional restoration, while PTI said that it would not talk with the government.

Political observers say that while both sides appear interested in lowering political temperatures, fundamental differences over the 2024 elections and accountability for May 9 may determine whether dialogue moves beyond such contacts.

While the PTI is not ready to talk, extraordinary circumstances require the PTI to take extraordinary steps for initiating the process of dialogue, as more than anyone else, it is the PTI that needs dialogue at the earliest to pave the way for normalcy.

It is a publicly known fact that Imran Khan authorised Achakzai and Alama Raja Nasir on November 04, but so far, no substantial progress has been made on the dialogue side. Movement, whether street or otherwise, is not clear either. Any future progress would require both sides to have direct contact with good intentions, a source said.

Originally published in The News