Islamabad, January 16, 2025: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has established a committee, comprising members of all ruling coalition parties, to examine the demands submitted by the opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), according to Rana Sanaullah, the PM’s aide on political affairs.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad alongside Senator Irfan Siddiqui, the head of the government’s negotiation committee, Sanaullah briefed the media on the third meeting held between the PTI and the government negotiation teams earlier today. The meeting, chaired by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq at Parliament House, saw PTI present its demands in writing for the first time.
The PTI demands include investigations into two key events: the May 9, 2023, violent protests and the November 26, 2024, crackdown on party workers. The opposition also called for the release of what it terms “political prisoners,” including PTI chairman Imran Khan, and the formation of two judicial commissions led by the Chief Justice of Pakistan or a panel of three Supreme Court judges mutually agreed upon by both sides.
In the written demands, PTI emphasized that the commissions’ proceedings must be open to the public and media. They also requested government support for granting bail or suspending convictions of political activists, while promising to identify political prisoners arrested after the mentioned incidents.
Rana Sanaullah stated that the government’s committee would carefully review PTI’s demands and issue a formal response. However, he shared his initial views, dismissing the request to reopen inquiries into the May 9 protests and the November 26 crackdown, noting that both matters have already been investigated and are currently under judicial consideration.
“The courts are already handling these matters, and reopening inquiries is unnecessary,” Sanaullah said. He also rejected PTI’s claims of “hundreds of workers killed or missing” following the November 26 events in Islamabad’s D-Chowk area. “They have failed to provide accurate numbers or evidence regarding missing or injured workers,” he added, stressing that families of the allegedly missing individuals would have protested had the claims been valid.
Sanaullah criticized PTI for not providing details about its alleged political prisoners, calling the claims vague. He also mentioned an ongoing case involving £190 million against PTI chairman Imran Khan and his wife, suggesting that a verdict may be announced soon.
PTI’s demand list includes five key points regarding the formation of two inquiry commissions, nine specific demands tied to the first commission, and seven related to the second. Among these, PTI called for release of arrested political activists and suspension of their sentences and federal and provincial government support for bail or appeals for convicted individuals awaiting judicial review.
The government has yet to provide a comprehensive response to PTI’s 22-point demand list. The ruling coalition’s committee will now assess the document to determine a path forward in the negotiations.
