ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday named a three-member committee under Jamaat-e-Islami’s ‘consensus initiative’ to engage with other parties so as to end the prevailing political deadlock in the country.
Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Maulana Sirajul Haq had taken the initiative in this regard a day earlier when he separately met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PTI chairman Imran Khan as part of his efforts to get the country out of the current political crisis. The PTI made the announcement on its official Twitter handle and informed that it has decided to constitute the committee after the former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s meeting with JI chief Sirajul Haq. The members of the committee include Pervez Khattak, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry and Mian Mehmood-ur-Rashid. “To get out of the current political crisis, a three-member committee of PTI has been formed for negotiations with Jamaat-e-Islami,” read the tweet. A day earlier, a significant thaw in political tensions was observed after the ruling coalition and the opposition PTI expressed their willingness to sit together “within the framework of the Constitution” following their separate meetings with the JI chief during the day. Haq called on the PTI chairman at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore. He was accompanied by JI deputy chief Liaquat Baloch and Central Secretary General Amirul Azeem. During the meeting, Siraj suggested Khan to hold talks with the government. He also asked him to form a committee to forge a “broad consensus” for holding the elections. The PTI chief welcomed the proposal and agreed to negotiate with the government “within the framework and limits of the Constitution”. In January, Imran Khan had dissolved both the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies in a bid to force the incumbent government to hold snap elections. However, the current rulers have been reluctant to meet the former ruling party’s demand.