Govt hands over response to PTI demands to Ayaz Sadiq

Monitoring Desk ISLAMABAD: Speaker Ayaz Sadiq met with the PTI leaders in Parliament House’s cafeteria on Wednesday including the newly-elected Chairman Public Accounts Committee, Junaid Akbar and Atif Khan. People’s Party’s MNA Nafeesa Shah was also present during the meeting. A reporter asked Ayaz Sadiq about likely revival of the dialogue process between the PTI and government. “Only the government, its allies and the opposition could reply over it, I am unconcerned,” Ayaz Sadiq said. “As Speaker it is my responsibility to have good relations with each member,” he added. “Your differences with Ali Amin Gandapur resolved,” the newsman asked PTI’s Junaid Akbar. “I had only difference of opinion with Gandapur, I used to have difference even with the PTI’s founder,” he replied. “The difference of opinion doesn’t mean, it is a separate group,” he said. “We are one under the flag of the PTI,” he clarified. “Ali Amin Gandapur will complete his (Chief Minister’s) term,” he added. Ali Amin Gandapur recently relieved from the PTI’s top provincial office of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and replaced by Junaid Akbar. PTI’s founder has taken decision while meeting the party leaders and his lawyers in Adiala Jail, Salman Akram Raja told media. Party leaders Junaid Akbar, Malik Ahmed Bhuchar, Atif Khan, Faisal Chaudhry, Aalya Hamza, Hafiz Farhat Abbas, Shah Farman, Ali Ijaz Buttar and Naeem Panjotha visited the PTI’s founder in jail today. PTI’s Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said that the party’s notification with regard to appointment of Junaid Akbar as provincial president KP will be announced soon. “Gandapur was satisfactorily handling his party responsibilities, on his request the PTI’s founder has relieved him from the party office,” Raja said. Meanwhile, the government has ‘submitted’ its response to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) charter of demands to National Assembly (NA) Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. The government in its reply has not outrightly rejected PTI’s demand for a judicial commission. Instead, the government has proposed the formation of a special or parliamentary committee as an alternative to probe the May 9 and November 26 incidents. It has also suggested granting parliamentary status to the existing committee under the NA speaker’s leadership. The government’s response outlines the conditions under which a judicial commission could be formed, as well as the legal and constitutional reasons why it may not be feasible.