PTI, JUI-F reach consensus for cooperation on parliamentary front

 In a key development in the political arena, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) have reached a consensus on cooperation in the National Assembly and the Senate, The News reported on Saturday.

The inter-party progress came after Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan-led PTI delegation which also included Asad Qaisar, Shibli Faraz, Raoof Hasan and Akunzada Hussain Yousufzai met JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at his residence.

Both the parties, who have traditionally been arch-rivals, have held multiple interactions since the February 8 polls owing to their mutual concerns regarding alleged election result manipulation and irregularities in the polls.

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Last month, PTI leader and former NA speaker Asad Qaiser met the JUI-F chief, wherein the two sides formally agreed to hold talks at the committee level with regards to the prospects of cooperation on the political front.

Sources told Geo News that the PTI also formed a five-member negotiation team for talks with Maulana’s party with Chairman Gohar, Qaiser, Hasan, Faraz and NA Opposition Leader Omar Ayub included in the panel.

Meanwhile, the JUI-F’s team comprised Kamran Murtaza Maulana Lutfur Rehman, Mufti Fazal Ghafoor, Aslam Ghauri and Maulana Amjad.

In the same month, Fazl had also claimed that the Imran Khan-founded party had agreed to step down from the assemblies and dissolve the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) legislature to force the government into elections — however, the claim was categorically refuted by PTI Chairman Gohar.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, PTI spokesperson Hasan said that it was a meeting between leadership of two parties adding that negotiating teams of two sides would continue to meet and move forward in the National Assembly and the Senate with mutual consultation.