ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday formally invited the opposition to sit across the table and “strengthen and take forward” the historic Charter of Democracy.
The Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs, Rana Sanaullah, urged the opposition to revive the spirit of the Charter of Democracy, a landmark 2006 agreement signed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and late former premier Benazir Bhutto to resist dictatorship and promote democratic continuity.
In this sense, Sanaullah said in response to remarks by Opposition Leader Raja Nasir Abbas. He stressed that dialogue, not confrontation, was the only viable path toward political stability and democratic consolidation.
The adviser maintained that the ruling coalition had consistently advocated negotiations, even during the tenure of former prime minister Imran Khan. However, he stated that Khan’s “stubbornness” had remained a significant obstacle to meaningful talks.
Sanaullah suggested that certain quarters preferred backchannel engagements over parliamentary dialogue.
He reasserted that political negotiations should occur within Parliament and invited the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to rejoin standing committees, from which it resigned last September.
The Senate session also witnessed sharp exchanges over the health of the incarcerated PTI founder. Sanaullah informed lawmakers that the government had implemented all court directives regarding Khan’s medical care, including the addition of an eye specialist to the medical board examining his reported right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).
Raja Nasir Abbas accused authorities of restricting parliamentary access during a recent sit-in staged over Khan’s health concerns. He termed the alleged closure of Parliament a serious affront to democratic norms and called for transparency in medical arrangements.
