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PPP, PML-N set for talks on caretaker setup**
ISLAMABAD: After having reached an amiable consensus over a new chief election commissioner, the country’s two largest political parties are now said to be planning to open talks for bringing in a caretaker setup to oversee general elections. Both are said to want fresh parliamentary polls to be held within this year.
Much is at stake – if the proposed negotiations between the governing Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) succeed, the outcome is likely to be the first civilian-to-civilian transition in the country’s history.
One PML-N leader said the two parties would hold talks in two phases. The first phase would involve only the PPP and PML-N; the second, other groups from the ruling alliance and opposition.
**The provinces question
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PML-N insiders also said the opposition party would push for appointing new governors in all four provinces ahead of the polls because they can influence the elections, although their powers have been reduced in the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
The PML-N also wants the ruling party to be clear on one particular issue – the question of who will play the role of the opposition in Sindh and Balochistan, neither of which have an effective opposition. The question remains vital because, according to the formula agreed upon under the 20th Amendment, there has to be an opposition to propose names for the leaders of a caretaker government.
**Second phase
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Insiders said the two parties also had differing opinions on how they should involve other parties into the second round of talks. Officials said the government negotiators are in favour of giving them a direct role in the talks while Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali wants their involvement be more indirect.
He proposed that the PPP should separately take its allies into confidence, while the PML-N would talk to opposition groups in and outside parliament. Nisar, Senator Pervaiz Rasheed and Ishaq Dar are likely negotiators for the PML-N while the PPP team is expected to be led by Religious Affairs Minister Khursheed Ahmed Shah.
Tribune
This is going ot be very crucial for a fair and free election as the current term expires. PPP and PML-N will have to give equal weight to political forces outside of the parliament to have an across-the-board consensus on the caretaker setup. Any under-the-table deal or non-seriousness towards the opinion of other parties will deprive the whole election exercise of credence.
Murda parasti aur jaddi pushti corruption? 
And keep us all entertained.
