Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday asked the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to send its representatives to attend meetings of the parliamentary committee on electoral reforms so that the current political deadlock could be ended as early as possible.
While making the request at a press conference, the minister said, “if the committee reaches a final decision over the electoral reforms, the PTI will later complain that they were not taken into confidence.”
Iqbal said the government wants to move ahead with negotiations with the PTI in a conducive environment. He added that, “We had reached an agreement on the issue of the judicial commission since day one and there are no disagreements over the electoral reforms. We want to bring electoral reforms with national consensus.”
“There can be certain issues that need to be decided for the formation of the judicial commission, like the terms of reference, but there are no disagreements over the issue of electoral reforms. So the PTI should send its representatives so that a national consensus can be reached over the issue,” the minister said.
He said the government hoped to end the current political impasse through talks and emphasised on political maturity and tolerance for bringing political stability in the country, which he described as a prerequisite to economic progress.
The PML-N leader said Pakistan needs Imran Khan along with leaders like Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari and Altaf Hussain.
“No political leader can solve Pakistan’s problems alone, and we will have to give up the approach that I am right and everyone else is wrong,” he said.
