Mahmood Khan Achakzai held 'responsible' for PTI-govt talks breakdown

ISLAMABAD: Opposition Leader in NA, Mahmood Khan Achakzai ‘played pivotal’ role in PTI-govt talks breakdown, ARY News reported on Sunday, citing an inside story of the meeting via sources.

The government-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) negotiations faced repeated deadlocks due to external pressure on opposition members. Sources said the government’s negotiating committee had full authority and continued to demonstrate flexibility throughout the talks.

According to sources, the government came under pressure following what they described as inappropriate demands made by Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Sohail Afridi.

Sources said differences between the opposition leadership and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government were also a major factor behind the failure of the negotiations.

Opposition members were reportedly prepared to proceed in line with federal and state policies, according to sources. However, the KP government also refused to accept federal assistance in districts affected by terrorism.

The committee reportedly found it surprising that the KP government was unwilling to cooperate with the federal government, sources said.

Sources further claimed that the KP government repeatedly spoke about launching a long march even before a consensus had been reached on the agreement.

Read more: Govt-PTI talks ‘end in deadlock’ over counterterrorism measures

The government and relevant institutions were reportedly willing to show flexibility on the remaining issues, according to sources.

Sources claimed that the negotiations ultimately failed due to what they described as the KP government’s rigid stance and refusal to compromise.

Mahmood Khan Achakzai reportedly played a key role in the failure of the negotiations and remained influential over the entire opposition negotiating committee, according to sources.

Sources said Mehmood Khan Achakzai repeatedly linked progress on every issue to a meeting with and the release of PTI founder Imran Khan.

At one point, the government had agreed to allow Barrister Gohar to meet the PTI founder, according to sources.

Sources said the failure to postpone the long march and the lack of an agreement on counterterrorism measures ultimately contributed to the deadlock.