TLP’s ‘rigid attitude’ behind failure in talks: Qadri

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Noor-ul-Haq Qadri on Thursday said that the government was sincerely holding talks with TLP on moving a resolution in the parliament but their ‘rigid attitude’ was the main reason behind failure in dialogue.

In a media briefing, he said that the response of TLP on arrest was inappropriate and against the teaching of Islam as every member of the society was unhappy over their reaction during protests across the country. Noor-ul-Haq Qadri said, “Our commitment is only with the sovereignty of Pakistan and no one is above the law.”

He said, “We were in talks with them with an open heart for the last four months on moving a resolution in the parliament as per their demand and never tried to avoid it.”

He said that there were some points that need discussion related to diplomatic matters and their aftermath but during the dialogue process, reliable sources confirmed that TLP was also planning to hold a sit-in at Faizabad on April 20, which was unethical at the time of the dialogue process and without waiting to reach to conclusion of the dialogue.

“We offered them to make a parliamentary committee to start working on making the draft of the resolution with consensus but they were insisting to just do only what they want. Despite creating issues from their side we tried our level best to resolve this matter through dialogue.”

He added TLP was not willing to prepare any parliamentary committee for making a draft despite several requests from the government side.

Qadri said that for the last two years there were ongoing political discussions with the leadership of TLP with the hope to see this party play its political role in the country’s politics.

ePaper - Nawaiwaqt