ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said the government was ready to form a parliamentary committee to continue talks with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) instead of the party’s demand to constitute judicial commissions to investigate the events of May 9, 2023 and November 26, 2024.

After over a year of escalating tensions between the government and the PTI, both sides finally began talks in the final week of December last year to ease the political temperature. However, despite several weeks of talks, the talks ended with PTI blaming the government for its failure to form two judicial commissions and the release of PTI detainees.

On January 28, the PTI boycotted the fourth round of talks with the government, a day after it announced that jailed party founding chairman Imran Khan issued directives to call off talks, citing delays in formation of judicial commissions as the primary reason.

In his address to the cabinet, the prime minister said that the government was ready to constitute a house committee, adding the committee that was formed in 2018 – formed by the then prime minister Imran Khan – should also complete its investigation and a house committee should be formed to investigate the February 8, 2024 elections to bring the facts to the fore.

Regarding the November 26 protest, he said that a house committee should probe that, as well as the 126-day sit-in staged by PTI in Islamabad in 2014, when it was in the opposition.

“It takes two to tango. The talks should move forward so that the country can progress, instead of bearing more harm due to their violent protests,” he added.

Recalling the negotiation process, he claimed that the government genuinely accepted PTI’s offer by constituting a committee and initiating talks with the help of the National Assembly speaker.

“The committee asked the PTI to present its demands in writing and the government also agreed to present a response in writing,” he said. “A meeting was supposed to be held on January 28 but they refused the talks and ran away.”

“Our members told them that the government was ready to present a response in writing and invited them to come to the table again, but they did not turn up,” he lamented.

Sharif referred to the parliamentary committee formed in 2018 by the then PTI government to finalise the terms of reference (ToRs) to investigate the election rigging allegations.

“After 2018 elections when we – as the opposition – entered the parliament while wearing black bands in protest, Imran Niazi told me that his government was forming a committee and a thorough probe would be carried out,” he recalled.

Reacting to PTI’s demand to form judicial commissions, he said that it was the PTI which chose to establish a house committee back in 2018, despite the opposition’s call for a judicial commission to probe into 2018 general elections fraud.

“In 2018, the PTI had also offered formation of a house committee and we accepted it, but the committee only held one or two meetings,” he added.

He called upon the PTI to resume dialogue and work together to form a house committee to investigate both the 2018 and 2024 elections and bring out the facts.

Interestingly, the prime minister remained tight-lipped about PTI’s demand to form a separate judicial commission to hold a probe into the “false flag” operation of May 9, 2023.

Earlier in the meeting, Prime Minister Sharif honoured the sacrifices of Pakistani soldiers who were martyred while fighting terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stressing the nation’s duty to honour the fallen heroes.

In his address, he also welcomed the State Bank’s decision to reduce the policy rate by one per cent, stating that a larger cut would have been beneficial for businesses and industries. He expressed optimism about the country’s economic growth and development.

He also touched upon the issue of human trafficking, expressing deep concern over the tragic loss of countless Pakistani lives due to illegal smuggling activities.

He assured that the government was focused on eradicating human trafficking and would not rest until those responsible were held accountable.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025