Pakistan’s coalition government and former prime minister Imran Khan’s party have made “big progress” after they agreed to hold simultaneous elections under caretaker governments across the country but failed to reach a consensus on the date of the polls.
The decision was announced by a senior minister after overnight parleys between the government and the main opposition party to end a deadlock over the timing of provincial and federal elections, an issue that has rocked the cash-starved country’s politics for months.
The talks were held in the backdrop of the controversy with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party seeking early polls - particularly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces where assemblies were dissolved in January - and the government led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) maintaining that provincial and federal elections across the country be held on the same day in October.
The third and key round of talks between the coalition government and PTI began on Tuesday night to discuss proposals for holding elections on the same day in the country.
Talking to the media after the talks, the Leader of the House in the Senate and Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Ishaq Dar termed the consensus on two points as a great positive achievement.
Dar said that there was consensus between both parties on holding simultaneous elections across the country to be held under caretaker governments and there was no confusion among anyone.
He added that there were many things in the backdrop that played a key role including the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the concept of caretaker governments and simultaneous polls for free, fair and transparent elections without any controversy.
However, he said a consensus was yet to be reached on the date of the elections.
“We have narrowed down on the date... but we have yet to reach an agreement,” he said, adding that both sides would consult their leadership on the matter.
He termed the consensus on holding one-day elections in the country as “big progress.”
The minister said both sides have shown flexibility and if they continue to work towards a resolution with sincerity, “the third stage (finalisation of the election date), which will be the final stage, will also be successful”.
Speaking alongside him, PPP’s Yousuf Raza Gilani said it was also agreed that both sides would accept the election results.
The government side included Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Azam Nazeer Tarar and Sardar Ayaz Sadiq from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and they are joined by Yusuf Raza Gilani and Syed Naveed Qamar from the Pakistan Peoples Party and other parties in the coalition government. The PTI, which is the main opposition party, fielded its Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry and Senator Ali Zafar for talks.