Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Chairman and leader of opposition Mahmood Khan Achakzai has directed the opposition to respond positively if the government contacts them for talks. According to sources, Mahmood Achakzai conveyed his message to opposition leaders through Akhunzada Hussain. He said that if the government contacts the opposition, the first condition should be a meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan. Mahmood Achakzai said the government could begin positive progress by releasing the PTI founder’s sisters.

He said a meeting with the prime minister would be meaningless if a meeting with the PTI founder does not take place. Sources said Mahmood Achakzai suggested that if a meeting with the PTI founder is not allowed, the opposition could consider refusing a meeting with the prime minister. Earlier, Opposition Leader in NA, Mahmood Khan Achakzai ‘played pivotal’ role in PTI-govt talks breakdown, ARY News reported on Sunday, citing an inside story of the meeting via sources.  The government-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) negotiations faced repeated deadlocks due to external pressure on opposition members.

Sources said the government’s negotiating committee had full authority and continued to demonstrate flexibility throughout the talks. According to sources, the government came under pressure following what they described as inappropriate demands made by Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Sohail Afridi. Sources said differences between the opposition leadership and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government were also a major factor behind the failure of the negotiations.

Opposition members were reportedly prepared to proceed in line with federal and state policies, according to sources. However, the KP government also refused to accept federal assistance in districts affected by terrorism. The committee reportedly found it surprising that the KP government was unwilling to cooperate with the federal government, sources said.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)