Lahore: Pakistan Opposition leader Imran Khan’s supporters on Monday shut down major roads here, protesting against the Nawaz Sharif Government even as negotiators from the two sides held an “informal” meeting and exchanged documents to make the dialogue process more result-oriented.
Demanding an inquiry into alleged rigging in the May 2013 general elections, activists from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party blocked the city’s major roads and burnt tyres, leading to suspension of public transport services.
The activists of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz also held demonstration against the PTI protestors, alleging that Khan’s supporters were forcefully closing shops and businesses in the city.
A heavy police force has been deployed in the city to prevent any violence.
Earlier, the negotiators of ruling PML-N and Opposition PTI held an “informal” meeting Sunday night during which they exchanged documents that both sides hoped would make the next round of talks more result-oriented than earlier attempts. PTI’s General Secretary Jahangir Tareen hosted federal ministers Ishaq Dar and Ahsan Iqbal at his residence. After the meeting, Dar said that he had handed over a document to the PTI leadership and would sit with them tomorrow to discuss the matter in details, Dawn reported.
Khan had announced that his party had come up with a Memorandum of Understanding that would be tabled before the government before the formal resumption of talks.
“We have exchanged documents and it has been decided — in principle — that contents of our meetings will not be made public to avoid speculation,” Dar said. Responding to a question, Dar said the ice had started melting and now both sides were trying to resolve issues amicably.
PTI leader Asad Umar, who was also present in the meeting, said the MoU was a condensed version of the earlier 13-point document discussed between both sides. “We have brought down the number of clauses in the MoU from thirteen to six,” he said.
He said that Dar has agreed that the talks would pick up from where they had stopped, therefore the ground already covered would not be discussed in the meeting.
The two sides agreed to revive talks after their workers clashed during PTI protest in Faisalabad last Monday in which two people were killed and several others injured.
Khan has warned that he and his supporters will paralyse the country on December 18 if the government fails to constitute a judicial commission comprising Supreme Court judges and officials of ISI and military intelligence to probe the allegations of rigging in the polls.
PTI has been protesting since August against the government over alleged rigging. (PTI)