ISLAMABAD: The political party of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan is holding a third round of talks with the government today, Thursday, to demand the release of its leader and other political activists and the formation of judicial commissions to probe accusations the party led violent protests. 

Khan’s ouster in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in 2022 has since plunged the country into long-term political crisis, particularly since the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was jailed in August last year on corruption and other charges and remains behind bars. Khan’s party and supporters regularly hold protests calling for his release, with some of the demonstrations turning violent, including one in November last year in which the government says four troops were killed and the PTI says 12 of its supporters died. 

Khan’s brief arrest on May 9, 2023, in a land graft case had also sparked countrywide protests that saw his supporters attack and ransack military installations in an unprecedented backlash against Pakistan’s powerful army generals. Hundreds of PTI supporters and leaders were subsequently arrested and dozens remain in jail as they face trail before civilian and military courts. 

While Khan had previously rejected talks with the government, saying his party would only speak to the ‘real powerbrokers’ in Pakistan, the all-powerful army, last month he set up a negotiating committee of top PTI leaders to open dialogue with the government on two main demands: the release of political prisoners and the establishment of judicial commissions to investigate the May 9, 2023, and Nov. 26, 2024 protests. 

The first round of talks took place on Dec. 23 and the second on Jan. 2.

“This is the third meeting between the treasury and the opposition,” Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker of parliament’s National Assembly, or lower house, who initiated efforts to open talks, said at a press conference on Thursday afternoon. 

“We had some misunderstanding, there were delays and communication gaps but now we are ready [for a third round of talks].

“I hope today’s meeting will take this process forward, which all of Pakistan is watching, that gracefully and with honesty of purpose from both sides, we can carry out this process.”

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan said the party would submit its demands in writing to the government negotiating team during the third round of talks. 

“We expect that the government will ponder over the demands with seriousness,” Gohar had said a day earlier. “We hope that if [the government] participates with seriousness, an open mind, and sincerity, a solution can be found to all the issues.”

The talks opened last month as Khan had threatened a civil disobedience movement and amid growing concerns he could face trial by a military court for allegedly inciting attacks on sensitive security installations during the May 9 protests.

The negotiations also began two days after 25 civilians were sentenced by a military court to periods of two to 10 years of “rigorous imprisonment” in connection with the attacks on military facilities on May 9. Just days later on Dec. 26, another 60 civilians were sentenced by a military court to jail time ranging from 2 to 10 years.

Khan, facing a slew of legal cases from jail, says all charges against him are politically motivated to keep him and his party out of power. Khan had to sit out February 2024 general elections as convicted felons cannot run for public office in Pakistan. 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday welcomed a ceasefire accord reached between Israel and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, after months of mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the US and 15 months of bloodshed that has devastated the coastal territory and inflamed the Middle East.

The deal outlines a six-week initial ceasefire with the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have been killed since October 2023. Hostages taken by Hamas would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

If successful, the ceasefire will halt fighting that has razed much of heavily urbanized Gaza, killed over 46,000 people and displaced most of the tiny enclave’s pre-war population of 2.3 million, according to Gaza authorities. That in turn could defuse tensions across the wider Middle East, where the war has stoked conflict in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and raised fears of all-out war between arch regional foes Israel and Iran.

“It is hoped that the truce would lead to permanent ceasefire and help in scaling up humanitarian assistance,” the foreign office said in a statement, calling for the “immediate and full implementation” of the ceasefire accord. 

Islamabad, which does not recognize nor have diplomatic ties with Israel, said “indiscriminate” use of force by Israeli forces had caused unprecedented loss of lives and property and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians while its “expansionist designs” had destabilized the entire Middle East region.

“Pakistan reiterates its support for a just, comprehensive, and durable solution to the Palestinian issue, leading to the establishment of a sovereign State of Palestine based on pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital,” the statement said. 

At a news conference in Doha, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the ceasefire would take effect on Sunday. Negotiators were working with Israel and Hamas on steps to implement the agreement, he said.

“This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much-needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the [Israeli] hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity,” US President Joe Biden said in Washington.

Israel’s acceptance of the deal will not be official until it is approved by the country’s security cabinet and government, with votes slated for Thursday, an Israeli official said.

While people celebrated the pact in Gaza and Israel, Israel’s military escalated attacks after the announcement, the civil emergency service and residents said.

Heavy Israeli bombardment, especially in Gaza City, killed 32 people late on Wednesday, medics said. The strikes continued early on Thursday and destroyed houses in Rafah in southern Gaza, Nuseirat in central Gaza and in northern Gaza, residents said.

Israel’s military made no immediate comment and there were no reports of Hamas attacks on Israel after the ceasefire announcement.

A Palestinian official close to the ceasefire negotiations said mediators were seeking to persuade both sides to suspend hostilities ahead of the ceasefire going into effect, Reuters reported.

With inputs from Reuters