Imran Khan would make the final decision on the PTI’s participation in the all-parties confab, party member Imran Ismail said on Sunday.

“In this atmosphere, the effort by JI emir Sirajul Haq is a breath of fresh air. It is hoped that sense will prevail among government parties because they are doing whatever they can with the power they have,” he said at Shaukat Piracha show Rubaroo.

Ismail was responding to a query whether the PTI chief would take part in All-Parties Conference, which according to media reports is convened after Eid by the Jamaat-e-Islami.

Siraj met with Khan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday amid the political crisis in the country. “The political, economic and constitutional crisis that Pakistan is currently facing cannot be solved by any court or establishment, politicians have to solve their own problems,” he said.

A day after JI emir Siraj’s meeting, the PTI constituted a three-member committee to hold a dialogue “on the ongoing political crisis in the country”. PTI leaders Pervaiz Khattak, Ejaz Chaudhry, and Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed will hold a dialogue with the JI.

Many experts have called for dialogue between the government and the opposition to resolve the crisis. They have warned of repercussions if the deadlock persists between the government on the elections, which has been exacerbated after the ruling alliance and Supreme Court stand-off.

Ismail, the former Sindh governor, went on to add that the decision on the participation in the APC also depends on the directions the talks offer would take as PPP has also started reaching out to parties in the PDM for a mega dialogue.

He lamented that the government has so far been reluctant to hold polls within 90 days after the dissolution of assemblies and refused to accept the judgement of the Supreme Court.

Adviser to the PM on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan told Aaj News that many members in the ruling alliance have reservations over going with a talk offer to the PTI with respect to the past experience.

“But as politicians, we should tolerate and make decisions according to the situation and collective decisions bring the country out of the crisis,” he said.

Kaira used the term “way forward” when asked if advisers of Khan were against negotiations. “Ultimately, the country should not suffer because of one person’s ego,” he said.

Fawad urges SC to appoint administrators in KP, Punjab

Earlier in the day, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry urged the Supreme Court to appoint administrators in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the caretaker governments in the provinces “lapsed”.

“The constitution is silent on who will be in charge of the province after the caretaker government’s tenure ends,” Fawad said at a press conference. “The Supreme Court should appoint administrators with the sole aim of organising elections.”

He added that the administrators could be serving or retired judges of the Supreme Court.

The caretaker government in Punjab will complete 90 days of being in power on April 22. Assemblies in Punjab and KP were dissolved in January, but elections have so far not been held.

Moreover, he called for an investigation into the role of the establishment of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s long march in 2019.

“Fazl ur Rehman has named people and made serious allegations. A formal commission should be made for the inquiry of the matter,” Fawad said in a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday.

Fazl claimed in a press conference on Saturday that General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Lt General Faiz Hameed had assured them that Imran Khan’s government would end and new elections would be called if the march ended.

Fawad added that there had been rumours of contacts between the establishment and Maulana’s party at the time, but things have now come out into the open.

He also reacted to Maulana’s statement about not accepting Imran Khan’s legitimacy as a leader.

“You are not a national-level leader,” Fawad said, adding that some people from KP might be ‘fooled’ into following Maulana but he has no support across the country.

The march had taken place in October 2019 when Maulana marched to Islamabad all the way from Karachi demanding an end to PTI’s government.

The PTI leader also spoke against the recent statement by junior petroleum minister Mussadik Malik criticising the role of the judiciary in limiting Parliament’s power to ‘amend the constitution’.

Fawad said that the minister needs to be told that passing resolutions is not the same thing as amending the constitution. “Resolutions have no legal value, you are only increasing the pile of rubbish,” he said.

He added that a convention of senior lawyers in Lahore on Saturday had reiterated that the Supreme Court’s orders are binding.