ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has offered to hold meaningful and purposeful talks with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urging the party to end its long march and sit-in politics.
Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kashmir Chowk Underpass in Islamabad, the prime minister said the government had already made efforts to engage with PTI leadership through negotiations, but the process could not produce the desired results.
PM Shehbaz said it had been agreed through consensus that meaningful and result-oriented talks would be held with the PTI leadership to resolve issues through dialogue.
He said the government’s committee held discussions with the PTI for two days in the Speaker’s Chamber, with hopes that the talks would lead to positive results.
“We were hopeful that after the talks, the politics of sit-ins would be brought to an end,” he said, adding that the PTI delegation subsequently demanded changes to matters that had already been agreed upon.
The prime minister said the politics of protests and long marches primarily harmed the national economy. He maintained that the government had worked as a team over the past two and a half years to stabilize the economy and that the country had now reached a stage where economic growth should be the priority.
He said remittances and IT exports had increased, while Pakistan had gained recognition at the international level.
“The wheel of Pakistan’s development is now being deliberately brought to a halt,” he said.
Referring to the renewed calls for protests and long marches, PM Shehbaz said the “terrible shadows” of sit-ins and long marches were unfortunately appearing again.
He warned that the law would take its course and said the government would not allow what he described as negative propaganda to succeed. He urged the PTI to consider whether its current course of action would benefit or harm the country.
The prime minister also stressed that protecting the lives and property of citizens was the government’s responsibility.
“I would ask them to come to their senses. If you end the long march and sit-ins, we will sit with you,” PM Shehbaz said.
Speaking about the Kashmir Chowk Underpass project, he said roads, underpasses and bridges were constructed to facilitate citizens’ travel. He expressed hope that one day Kashmir Highway would extend all the way to Srinagar.
The prime minister said the nation wanted Pakistan to move forward with hard work, honesty and integrity.