TTAP to meet govt first as PPP opens channel for possible talks

ISLAMABAD: The opposition alliance Tehreek Tahaffuz Aain-i-Pakistan (TTAP) plans to engage the government before deciding whether to hold a separate meeting with the Pakistan Peoples Party, after receiving approaches from both sides, according to a source within the alliance.

The development follows Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer of talks from the floor of the National Assembly. Separately, PPP — a coalition partner of the ruling PML-N at the centre — has also made contact with TTAP, the source said. However, the alliance has decided that it will first hear out the government side before considering any engagement with the PPP.

According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the PPP’s outreach to TTAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai was made through one of the alliance’s constituent parties, but not through the PTI. The contact was said to have come from a senior PPP leader, with the source adding that the offer originated from an individual close to the PPP chairman, though no name was disclosed.

Coalition strains and opposition calculations

The source said TTAP believes recent tensions between the PPP and PML-N are linked to several issues. These include differences over the Gilgit-Baltistan elections, concerns that the PPP-led government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir had been bypassed in recent decision-making, and renewed debate over water distribution in the wake of discussions around the 28th Constitutional Amendment.

PPP has also shown public dissatisfaction with its coalition partner in parliament, including during the budget session over water distribution concerns, and has questioned the fairness of the recent Gilgit-Baltistan polls, the source said. In that context, TTAP believes the party may be looking to establish a line of communication with the opposition alliance.

The source further said the handshake between the opposition leader and the prime minister in parliament, followed by the premier’s invitation for talks, had helped ease tensions between the two sides. He added that Allama Raja Nasir Abbas had also supported a positive response by TTAP to the government’s offer.

Next steps after budget session

Mahmood Khan Achakzai is currently in Quetta for a personal engagement and is expected back by Monday, the source said. TTAP is likely to take up the government’s invitation in what the source described as a constructive spirit, while expecting that the government would avoid sending mixed signals during the process this time.

According to the source, the alliance intends to first meet the prime minister and his team to hear their proposals. Only after that, and after the budget session concludes, will TTAP decide whether to sit down with the PPP. The alliance has already conveyed this position to the intermediary, the source added.

PPP Information Secretary Nadeem Afzal Chan was contacted for comment but was unavailable.

Signs of strain within the ruling coalition have meanwhile become more visible. While many government figures have largely avoided publicly answering PPP criticism, senior PML-N leader and former federal minister Khawaja Saad Rafique recently expressed displeasure and warned the PPP leadership against continuing its attacks on its coalition partner. In a social media statement, Rafique said the PPP received about 28% of the vote in the Gilgit-Baltistan elections, while the PML-N got 22%.