Islamabad, Jan 20 (.) Pakistan’s ruling political party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) once again urged the opposition to return to the negotiating table, with senior party figures stressing that dialogue is essential to stabilise politics and strengthen parliamentary democracy.
Taking to the Senate floor on Tuesday, Rana Sanaullah, who also serves as the prime minister’s advisor on political and public affairs, described the recent notification of opposition leaders in both the National Assembly and the Senate as a “positive development”.
Stressing political engagement across party lines, he said dialogue was necessary to improve governance and recalled that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had repeatedly extended offers for negotiations to the opposition in the past as well.
Relations between the government and the main opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have been fraught with tensions for more than a year. While both parties managed to establish dialogue in late December, the resulting negotiations failed to lead to any breakthrough in the ongoing deadlock.
Both parties have been at impasse since then, with subsequent efforts to reviving the negotiating process also being met with failure.
PTI’s jailed founder and former Pakistani premier Imran Khan has since authorised opposition alliance leaders Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Senator Allama Raja Nasir to decide whether talks should proceed, and on what terms.
Achakzai heads the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahaffuz Aiyeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), with Nasir as its vice-chairman.
Separately, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, giving the government’s stance said that while Islamabad remained open to the prospect of dialogue and was fully serious about dialogue, it doubted the PTI’s sincerity.
Speaking to Geo News at Parliament House, Asif argued that the former ruling party spoke in “four or five different languages”, adopting varying positions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in parliament and abroad, prompting questions as to which stance should be trusted.
Adding that negotiations could only succeed if the opposition showed genuine intent and stopped leaving room for backtracking, he slammed the opposition group and accused it of “double dealing”.
Asif also criticised PTI-linked figures abroad for using abusive language against Pakistan, calling it a calculated strategy that undermined trust.
“If intentions are clear, talks can happen and deliver results,” he said, adding that bad faith had so far derailed progress.
PTI, however, has firmly rejected claims of secret contacts, with party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan stating there were no backdoor talks with the government or the establishment.
He welcomed the formal recognition of opposition leaders as a constructive step for parliament and democracy, and said both had delivered responsible messages in recent speeches.
Gohar also remarked that Achakzai and Nasir now carried major responsibilities, urging all sides to set aside their personal egos to reach progress.
He reiterated PTI’s position that dialogue required goodwill from both sides and warned that if the government resorted to force, public protests could resume.
He also repeated the party’s claim that its mandate had been “stolen” in the February 8, 2024, elections.
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