Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to hold talks with opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). In a speech at the National Constitutional Convention in the National Assembly, Zardari requested that the prime minister initiate dialogue with the opposition without setting any conditions. The PPP’s core committee resolved to approach all parties in the coalition government to discuss the issue of dialogue among political parties, including the PTI, last week. PTI Senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry praised the PPP’s move, whilst the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) rejected it. Zardari claimed that the PTI was hiring political workers, social media activists and journalists to continue its propaganda against the country and institutions. Meanwhile, the foreign minister emphasised the need for unity amongst political and democratic forces, stating that all institutions should work in their constitutional ambit to bring Pakistan out of various problems, including economic, inflation, unemployment, and terrorism. The National Security Committee has also decided to launch operations against terrorists, and the finance minister is working to foil PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s attack on the economy.
