LAHORE, Pakistan: The federal government has expressed its willingness for holding unconditional talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and also called on the PTI to withdraw its shutdown call.
In a press conference in Lahore on Wednesday evening, the federal finance minister Ishaq Dar said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership decided that talks with the PTI would be formal and meaningful.
The minister expressed the confidence that after decision of the government to resume dialogue unconditionally, the PTI too would take back its call for protests indefinitely.
Ishaq Dar said that he himself would be approaching the PTI senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi to convey decision of the government for resumption of the dialogue.
The finance minister said the dialogue would be held without compromising principles. He said that the dialogue would be strictly within the bounds of the law and the constitution and hoped that the PTI would not put forward any illegal or unconstitutional demand.
Earlier, a meeting of the core committee of the PML-N was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the PM House in Islamabad on Wednesday.
The meeting discussed prevailing political atmosphere amid protests and shut down calls by the PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
During the meeting, the prime minister assigned the finance minister the task to resume the dialogue process with the PTI.