PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday stated that negotiations with the PDM government have failed and the Supreme Court has been informed of the details.
According to the details, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that three meetings were held with the coalition government, and the PTI had tried to resolve the issues with honesty and good intentions.
Progress was made in the negotiations with the PDM government, however, no result was extracted from the dialogue, and the details have been informed to the Supreme Court.
Read more: Govt, PTI resume talks over elections
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the PTI’s decision is to defend and stand with the Constitution. He added that the PTI decided not to ignore the constitutional status of the Supreme Court and to stand with the constitutional decision of the Chief Justice.
On the other hand, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, in a statement to the Supreme Court, informed that the ruling alliance “believes that political issues can best be resolved through dialogue and are ready to resume” it in the “larger national interest”.
Ishaq Dar had submitted the statement on behalf of the coalition parties informing the court that “significant progress has been made since the dialogue process began”.
Last month, the Supreme Court — while hearing a PTI petition — had directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold general elections in the Punjab Assembly on May 14. However, the government had rejected the apex court’s orders.
Read more: PM Shehbaz stresses parliament’s role in decision on elections
The Supreme Court on April 20 afforded a temporary respite to the country’s main political parties, giving them time till April 26 to develop a consensus on the date for elections to the provincial and national assemblies, so they could be held simultaneously across the country. However, no consensus has been reached between the government and the PTI.
During the Supreme Court hearing today, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial warned that if the talks between the government and the PTI failed then the Supreme Court would use the Constitution to implement its verdict of holding elections in Punjab on May 14.