ISLAMABAD: The latest round of talks between the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the government has led to no development and the deadlock continues to persist between the two sides.

Speaking to media representatives after the conclusion of today's talks at the Convention Centre in Islamabad, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was leading PTI's delegation, said his party had asked the government to offer an explanation over the position it took in Parliament.

“The government’s response in the National Assembly was fallacious,” a visibly upset Qureshi said, adding that the difference in the versions of PTI and the government was reflective of the trust deficit prevailing between the two sides.

However, we still went ahead with the meeting, the PTI leader said, adding that the party's delegates again briefed government representatives about the six points that the party had originally laid out before it.

The meeting came hours after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan trashed the impression that the government had sought the army's help to mediate the deadlock in Islamabad. Today was also the first time that the government held joint talks with delegates from the PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) delegates.

Government and PAT representatives haven't been seen to have left the meeting room and it wasn't clear whether the talks between the two had reached a conclusion.

The dialogue as it began was being seen to have reached a definitive round especially after General Raheel Sharif held separate meetings with Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri. However, the developments as they transpired have only given the impression of a continuing impasse.

For today's round of discussions, the government's committee was being led by Ishaq Dar and included Pervez Rasheed, Ahsan Iqbal, Abdul Qadir Baloch and Zahid Hamid. The PTI was represented by Asad Umar, Jahangir Tareen, Pervez Khattak, Shafqat Mahmood and Shah Mehmood Qureshi. The PAT had sent Khurram Gondal, Raheeq Abbasi and Sahibzada Hamid Raza from its side. Governor Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, who has been shuttling from his base to Karachi and Islamabad, had managed to reach the meeting some time after it began.

Also read: Untiring Imran puts talks on hold till Nawaz's resignation

Both PTI and PAT have remained unflinching in their demands, especially the one relating to Nawaz's resignation, with Imran saying he will not give in to the government's efforts to "buy him out".

Altaf demands formation of 'technocrat govt'

Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain demanded that a technocrat government should be formed to diffuse prevailing political tension in the country.

Speaking to a private TV channel, he urged the military leadership not to "delay taking over the government."

The MQM chief said that corps commanders should not wait any longer and establish their 'writ' in the country.

"Pakistan Army should step forward to save the country ... through any means, constitutional or not," he said.