By Iftikhar Mashwani
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has offered to hold talks with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urging the party to call off its long march and sit-ins and resolve political differences through dialogue.
Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kashmir Chowk Underpass in Islamabad, the prime minister said the government was ready for “meaningful and purposeful” negotiations with the PTI leadership to find solutions to the country’s political issues.
Shehbaz Sharif criticized the return of what he described as the politics of long marches and sit-ins, saying such protests could negatively affect the country’s economy and public life.
He said a government committee had already held two days of discussions with PTI representatives in the Speaker’s Chamber and hoped the talks would lead to a positive outcome and an end to protest politics.
However, he claimed that the PTI delegation later sought changes to issues that had already been agreed upon.
The prime minister stressed that roads, underpasses and bridges were being built to facilitate citizens, while expressing hope that the Kashmir Highway would one day extend to Srinagar.
Shehbaz said the government had worked collectively over the past two and a half years to stabilize the economy and that the country was now moving toward economic growth. He pointed to rising remittances and IT exports as signs of progress.
He also alleged that Pakistan’s development was being deliberately disrupted despite the country receiving increasing international recognition.
The prime minister reiterated that political issues should be settled through dialogue, calling on the PTI to end its long march and sit-ins to pave the way for negotiations.
