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Building consensus: Govt wins over
PTI on counter-terror strategy**
ISLAMABAD: After months of disagreement, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday successfully managed to win over Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for his government’s strategy to deal with the menace of militancy.
Imran Khan, who has been an avid supporter of dialogue, appreciated the government’s push for peace and said his party would support a military operation if launched as a last resort. The premier mustered Imran’s support at a meeting at the latter’s residence. The meeting was the first of its kind and the prime minister travelled without protocol.
After the hour-and-a-half long ‘serious’ and ‘friendly’ meeting, Imran said, “The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government is the first in the last 12 years which is seriously working to establish peace.”
“The talks are entering a resulted-oriented phase, therefore, we have to have a high level of understanding and consensus,” Nawaz said during the meeting. “Keeping aside all kinds of differences and divides, we will have to strive for achieving peace with full determination,” he added.
The meeting between the heads of the two political parties, which had won the highest and second-highest number of votes in the 2013 elections, was hailed as a positive development.
During the meeting, Irfan Siddiqui gave a brief about the achievements of the first phase of talks, while the interior minister shared details about the newly formed committee with an assurance that the government would keep all stakeholders in the loop.
In addition, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Parvez Khattak gave an overview of the situation in the province.
The PTI chief commended the progress made by the peace committee, headed by Irfan Siddiqi, as it “achieved more than what was expected”.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Imran said the government’s peace initiative has separated the Taliban factions willing to negotiate from those reluctant to renounce violence.
“This division is a great success,” he said, adding that the irreconcilable militant factions will be dealt with militarily. However, he urged the government to take care of the safety and security of the civilians living in the area in case of an operation.
Source
The meeting of the two top vote-getter parties should be hailed for building consensus on the most thorny issue the country is facing.
I also see the meeting doing some favour to the PTI as the media, which is shockingly under the spell of the Noon camp, might have to go slightly soft on Imran for his stand on the whole situation. As the stands of both the parties blur into one for achieving peace through dialogue, one either condemns both or appreciates both.
Besides, I would want to see the mighty media machine of the Noon League to push the media into softening the ground for military action it had created so diligently.
) aik say barh kar aik tabsara karain gaiy aur aapus main lar mar jain gaiay 
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