One more U-turn? Committee for ‘political engagement’ with rivals is formed by PTI
In a rare step, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said on Wednesday that a “political engagement committee” has been formed to reach out to opposition parties ahead of the 2018 polls, as political parties prepare for the general elections.
Senators Ali Zafar, Dr. Humayun Mohmand, Ali Muhammad Khan, Ali Asghar Khan, and Raoof Hasan are among the five members of the committee. They read the party notification issued on its official X account, which was formerly known as Twitter.
Notification regarding members of Political Engagement Committee has been issued. Members:
1. Senator Barrister Ali Zafar
2. Senator Dr. Humayun Mohmand
3. Ali Muhammad Khan
4. Ali Asghar Khan
5. Raoof Hasan pic.twitter.com/pcWIt7Q59c— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 8, 2023
This comes a few days after the previous ruling party declared it would run candidates in “all constituencies” for the national and provincial elections.
The Imran Khan-led party has a history of adopting a tough approach against political rivals, often accusing them of corruption and embezzlement. Notable examples of these opponents include the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), and others.
The PTI’s decision to approach political parties coincides with the trend of political parties putting their past disagreements behind them in favor of future alliances as they work to create new coalitions to bolster their positions ahead of the general elections, which are set for February 8 of next year.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and the PML-N declared they will “jointly contest” the next elections a day earlier.
The action was taken during a meeting between PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and a MQM-P delegation headed by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Farooq Sattar, and Syed Mustafa Kamal at the party’s Model Town secretariat in Lahore.
After receiving the “go-ahead” from Imran Khan, the party’s imprisoned leader, the PTI also made contact with Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of the JUI-F, one of its most ardent political rivals, last month.
The leader of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was met at his Islamabad home by a PTI group headed by former speakers of the national assembly Asad Qaiser including Ali Muhammad Khan, Barrister Saif, and Junaid Akbar.
In an attempt to restore political stability to the nation, Fazl had promised to take the lead in “national reconciliation” before to the conference.
While Qasier claimed that the party delegation met Maulana Fazl to express sympathy for the Bajaur incident, which involved a suicide blast at the JUI-F workers’ convention in July that claimed the lives of over forty people, the sources said that the hour-long meeting had more political overtones and covered topics related to the nation’s political landscape.
In recent weeks, there have been indications that Khan’s party is beginning to soften its once uncompromising position against its political rivals.
PPP’s remarks regarding a “level playing field” and rejecting “minus-PTI results” have been hailed by the party.
“It is important to remember that without the PTI, the election results will not be accepted by anyone,” interim president of PPP Punjab Rana Farooq stated in a statement.
It is important to note that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced last week that general elections would take place on February 8, 2024, following months of uncertainty over the vote date. This announcement was made in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directives.
After conferring with President Arif Alvi regarding the directives issued by the CJP Isa-led three-member bench of the Supreme Court during the hearing of several cases requesting timely elections within ninety days, the highest electoral board declared the election date
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