PM offered PTI political space in return for count...

Summary

• Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry has said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the government to provide maximum political space to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) if the party and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government agreed to fully cooperate with the federal government in the fight against terrorism.
• He said Shehbaz had instructed the government team to provide as much political space to the opposition as possible if it agreed to cooperate fully on security matters.
• The political dispute comes as PTI continues its long march towards Islamabad, led by KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, while the federal government has called for the protest to be called off and urged the opposition to return to dialogue.

AI Generated Summary

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry has said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the government to provide maximum political space to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) if the party and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government agreed to fully cooperate with the federal government in the fight against terrorism.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, Chaudhry said Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had briefed the prime minister after the first round of government-opposition negotiations and told him that progress had been made on counterterrorism cooperation.

According to Chaudhry, the prime minister responded that national security and eliminating terrorism were more important than any political advantage. He said Shehbaz had instructed the government team to provide as much political space to the opposition as possible if it agreed to cooperate fully on security matters.

Chaudhry said the prime minister referred to the difficult economic decisions taken when Pakistan faced the risk of default, arguing that political parties could lose popularity while taking unpopular decisions but that protecting the country remained the priority.