Government Tried To Negotiate, Opposition Refused: Barrister Aqeel

Faizan Hashmi Published February 11, 2025 | 01:50 PM

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Feb, 2025) Advisor to the Prime Minister on Law and Justice, Barrister Aqeel Malik, on Tuesday said that the government made serious efforts to hold talks with the opposition, but they refused to negotiate.

Talking to a private news channel, he said the government held three meetings and even offered a 10-month plan, but the fourth meeting could not happen because the opposition refused to join.

Replying to a query regarding the protest of lawyers, he said major legal bodies, including the Supreme Court Bar Association and Pakistan Bar Council, supported the process, he claimed, while adding that only a small group, linked to a political party, was protesting.

He rejected comparisons to the 2007-09 lawyers’ movement by saying that the movement was against a dictator, while today, Parliament has the right to make legal changes.

He added that protests based on political motives would not change anything. "The judges have been appointed, and the system is moving forward," he said.

Barrister Aqeel also dismissed concerns over international monitoring. He said visits by organizations like the IMF were routine and followed legal procedures.

"There is nothing unusual about this. Everything is happening under the constitution," he said.