The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has accepted a proposal from civil society organisations to hold an All Parties Conference (APC) in an attempt to break the ongoing political deadlock over the next general elections in the country, a private TV channel; reported. Addressing the media in Lahore on Tuesday, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said the representatives of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Lahore High Court Bar Association, and senior journalists initiated the move to evolve consensus between the opposition and government regarding the next general elections. “Imran Khan and PTI have agreed to their proposal. We are grateful to them for coming here. Their proposal to hold dialogue and move towards elections is very important. We fully support this,” Fawad said. During the meeting, Fawad raised the issue of alleged crackdown on their party workers and leaders by the incumbent PDM government, stating that they want these arrests to be stopped immediately before they engage in dialogue.
Last week, the PTI threw the ball in the government’s court to take the first step and “give a date and venue” for a meeting reconciling all political parties for dialogue. In response, Fawad asked the PDM-led government to assign a date and venue for a meeting of all political parties.
The PTI’s move comes after former premier and PTI chief Imran Khan expressed his willingness to “talk to anyone” and “render any sacrifice” for the sake of the country, and after his successor, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, extended an olive branch and signaled his willingness “to sit together to take the country forward”.
