Govt hopeful talks with disgruntled PML-Q will come along: Shafqat Mahmood

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood on Monday expressed the optimism that talks with the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), one of the disgruntled coalition partners of the ruling PTI, will come along with redressal of the party leadership’s grievances.

Speaking during a private television channel programme, he said today’s one-and-a-half-hour meeting with central leader of the PML-Q and Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi took place in a cordial atmosphere.

The meeting remained productive, he added.

The minister said the government will assuage the reservations of its key ally in the Centre and Punjab as they push ahead with talks. Issues concerning the trust deficit between the government and the party will be addressed, he assured.

He, however, denied that the two discussed bringing PTI stalwart Jahangir Khan Tareen back to the government negotiating committee. He said he assured Pervaiz Elahi that they will start the talks from where they had left off.

Shafqat Mahmood said they will hold a meeting with a PML-Q committee in four to five days.

He said the PTI and the PML-Q converged on various matters, including reforms, the welfare of the people and local government elections.