ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led ruling coalition on Monday firmly stood its ground, dismissing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) demand to constitute two separate judicial commissions to probe into the events of May 9, 2023 and November 28, 2024, citing procedural limitations.
Well-placed sources within PML-N told Business Recorder that after discussions with the leadership of their respective parties, the negotiation committee has rejected the formation of the two separate commissions, which the PTI had submitted to it during the third round of talks last week.
According to sources, PTI’s demand to form judicial commissions could not be met as the cases against PTI activists involved in the May 9 mayhem are already at the final stage and some of the accused had already been convicted, making additional inquiries redundant.
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They said that at this stage no judicial commission can be formed to investigate both the events – May 9 and November 28 – that are already being heard by the courts, adding that there is no truth in the PTI’s claims that the detainees are being held in jails solely out of political vendetta.
The PTI had submitted a detailed list of demands, particularly pressing for the creation of two separate commissions under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 2017.
The first commission was to investigate the legality of Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9 and assess the circumstances leading to his detention.
The second was supposed to probe the subsequent violence, including attacks on military installations, desecration of memorials, and damage to public property.
The fate of the ongoing talks hangs in the balance, as the world watches and wonders what the future holds for the party of imprisoned PTI founding chairman and his party. The once-promising prospect of progress in the ongoing talks between the government and the PTI now seems like a distant dream.
Senator Irfan Siddiqui, the spokesman for the government’s negotiation committee, could not be reached for comments despite several attempts on his cell phone.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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