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Ready to continue talks with PTI in ‘larger national interest’, govt tells SC

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  • Govt says “significant” progress achieved in talks with PTI.
  • Says PTI “acknowledges” gravity of economic challenges.
  • Both sides agree on holding general elections on same date.

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, in a statement to the Supreme Court, informed that the ruling alliance “believe that political issues can best be resolved through dialogue and are ready to resume” it in the “larger national interest”.

The government made the assurance in its four-page statement submitted to the apex court today on the recent talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). 

Dar had submitted the statement on behalf of the coalition parties informing the court that “significant progress has been made since the dialogue process began”.

In the statement, Dar said that all members of the ruling alliance, apart from the two parties, had agreed to the negotiations. He added that five rounds of formal and informal talks were held between the PTI and the government.

“Coalition Partners’ committee apprised the PTI committee that the talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and friendly countries are at the most sensitive and crucial stages. In order to avoid any further economic deterioration, it is of utmost necessity that the agreements with the IMF and friendly countries are concluded before the Annual Budget 2023-24 can be presented/approved,” read the statement.

Dar shared that he informed the PTI of the condition of the economy when it came to power and the situation after Imran Khan was ousted from power in 2022. The points highlighted by the government included the ranking of Pakistan’s economy, rising public debt, ballooning circular debt, downgrading of Pakistan’s stock market and decline of its market capitalisation. The PTI was also informed about the physical and economic losses on account of the devastating floods of last year.

“In view of the foregoing, the undersigned pointed out that it was absolutely critical to conclude the IMF ninth review, pass the Annual Budget for FY 2023-24 and approve the Trade Policy 2023-24 before dissolving the National Assembly,” said the finance minister.

The statement said that the PTI committee “acknowledged the gravity of economic challenges being faced by Pakistan and agreed to negotiate on holding general elections to the National and all provincial Assemblies on the same date”.

“The Coalition Partners also showed flexibility to reach political settlement and considered dissolving the National and two Provincial Assemblies before the end of their constitutionally mandated terms. Negotiations between both committees consequently led to a major breakthrough to end the political impasse,” said the statement.

The finance minister said that both parties agreed on the following points:

(I) Consensus amongst all participants that the general elections be held on the same date;

(II) The committees further agreed that the caretaker governments should be in place at both the federal and provincial levels for holding general elections justly, fairly and in accordance with law and to provide a level playing field to the leadership of all political parties to actively participate in the electoral process;

(III) There is, however, no agreement on the date of dissolution of the National and Provincial Assemblies of Sindh and Balochistan, and both committees had agreed on 02-05-2023 to resume negotiations after getting clearance from their respective leadership.

PTI welcomes early dissolution of assemblies

Reacting to the government’s proposal for the early dissolution of assemblies, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said it was a “positive step”. 

“If an agreement is reached on the date of dissolution of the assemblies and impartial caretaker governments before the elections, it will be important steps towards ending the political crisis,” said Fawad.

Elections

Atta Tarar’s triumph over NA-127 in the LHC is contested

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The victory of Attaullah Tarar, the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) from Lahore’s NA-127 constituency in the general elections on February 8 has been contested in the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Samiullah Khan’s victory from PP-145 has also been contested. The petitions will be heard by Election Tribunal Judge Sultan Tanveer. The petitions have included the Pakistani Election Commission (ECP) and other parties as parties.

In the meantime, Attaullah Tarar stated during a discussion with Miss Zoe Ware, the Political Counselor of the British High Commission, that fake news, misinformation, and disinformation were global issues that needed to be managed.

According to the minister, fake news is the largest issue on social media, and the government is working to address it.

The conference covered a wide range of topics, including the two nations’ relationship and how to foster media collaboration. Collaboration in the drama and cinema industries was also covered.

According to Attaullah Tarar, social media verification should be adopted by journalists, and a global code of conduct for social media usage should be created.

Miss Zoe Ware thanked Attaullah Tarar on taking over as Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) on establishing the cabinet.

She was given the assurance that the UK diplomat will work with her to promote bilateral ties between Pakistan and the UK.

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Pakistan

US commitment to resolving Pakistan’s energy crisis is prioritized

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According to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, Pakistan was assisted by the United States in producing an extra 4,000 megawatts of sustainable energy.

According to him, these kinds of initiatives have given Pakistan more capacity to produce energy, allowing it to power millions of people.

The spokesman restated that both nations will cooperate through the green alliance to address the environmental issues.

At a news briefing, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “Earlier, the United States advised Pakistan to halt the Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline Project, as engaging in business with Iran poses the risk of encountering U.S. sanctions.”

“We always advise everyone that doing business with Iran carries the risk of encountering our sanctions, and we would advise everyone to consider that very carefully,” he continued. “I’m not going to preview any potential sanctions.”

He said, “We do not support this pipeline going forward, as the Assistant Secretary made clear last week.”

The Pakistan-Iran pipeline project was approved for completion a few months ago by the caretaker administration in Pakistan. But after this permission, Pakistan received an official statement from the US expressing its worries. Pakistan again put a stop to the project’s execution when the United States expressed concerns.

Miller said, “We condemn the attack on a convoy of PRC engineers in Pakistan,” in response to a query. Miller also denounced the terrorist attack on Chinese engineers in Pakistan. We offer our sincere condolences to all impacted by the incident and are extremely saddened by the deaths and injuries incurred.

He declared, “Terrorists have caused enormous suffering to the Pakistani people, and Chinese nationals living in Pakistan have also been the targets of terrorist strikes.” Such acts of terror should not occur in any nation.

In response to a question concerning a letter from Pakistani judges, the spokesperson stated that while he had seen the letter, he had not yet conferred with his colleagues and would not be making any comments.

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Pakistan

Fazlur Rehman says the government led by Shehbaz won’t be able to deliver

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Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), expressed doubts on Wednesday over the viability of the Shehbaz Sharif administration, stating that he believes the new system will fail if citizens go to the streets.

Fazlur Rehman stated on Wednesday’s “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath” segment of Geo News that “the parliament will likely be a rubber stamp.” There are simply too many obstacles for this government to handle. In the end, politicians will be held accountable for all of their shortcomings.”

The “crime is committed by someone else and the politicians take responsibility,” he said, calling it bizarre. The leader of JUI-F declared that his organization will demonstrate against the establishments that had turned the elections into a “game.”


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Fazl has previously said that he would abstain from the by-elections for the National Assembly and provincial assembly seats. In addition, he declared that on April 25, following Ramadan, he will start a protest campaign against the purported election manipulation from Balochistan.

“We firmly believe that there will be a rigged general election in 2024. And the factor that changed the outcome would be our aim. We reject the findings that led to the formation of this government,” he declared.

The leader of JUI-F stated that they disagreed with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa election results.

“[Earlier] the issues with the PTI were ideological and not election-related,” he said.

He stated that the party had not yet made the decision to work with the PTI. He did concede, though, that the Imran Khan-led party’s attitude has changed for the better. He remarked that it was a positive attitude and that it would not be a problem if the two parties moved together.

Fazl also revealed that he told Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister, that he thought of him as a new blue-eyed boy during their meeting.

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