EDITORIAL: Of course the government knew very well what the opposition would make of its offer of talks, especially since Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary didn’t just say that the prime minister would be part of no such thing, but also made sure that he implied, in his inimitable, derogatory style, that it would be beneath the PM to do so. So the most likely take-away from all this for the government is that it had the magnanimity, despite the toxicity, to offer talks and it was the opposition that let the opportunity go begging.
But, whichever way it goes, why the change of heart? What made the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) think tank think that after almost four years of hounding the opposition, and rejecting their offer of just such talks, now would be a good time to make this surprise offer? And what made the PM greenlight it? No doubt they would also have factored in what they’d do in case the opposition did accept after all.
The opposition, press, and pretty much everybody outside PTI ought to be forgiven for taking this gambit as an attempt to deal with the fallout of Pervaiz Khattak and Noor Alam Khan falling out.
Now, when any sane opposition would be strategising about cajoling disgruntled PTI members and coalition partners, and lighting up the media with their endeavours, what better way to divide their attention than opening talks about things that they pretend to be so obsessed about — electoral and judicial reforms, the next NAB (National Accountability Bureau) chairman? But why, then, are they posturing to do it but at the same time also making sure that the opposition understands that its smart ideas about any of those subjects wouldn’t mean anything at all to the government? Besides, what would they really talk about when everybody knows that the opposition is mobilising, long marches and all, to bring the government to a premature end?
Sadly, what we’re seeing is the same old, zero-sum game of national politics. The so-called establishment is also ever present, as usual. Why else would prime time TV be gripped by who’s been talking to whom, about deals and counter-deals, and how and why this particular element is the game-changer? Considering all this, it seems only inevitable for the government’s attempt to put a lid on things to instead open yet another can of worms that would make the national discourse even uglier.
A lot of this wouldn’t have happened if some of the PM’s many U-turns didn’t involve his pre-election and also oath-taking speech promises of giving parliament a Westminster-like makeover, appearing fortnightly for question time, and engaging the opposition. Not only is the demand that the PM must be part of any negotiations right, it also touches upon something that is desperately needed. It’s because Pakistan’s democracy becomes part of the problem, not the solution, when all resources and attention are diverted towards old-fashioned political mud-slinging.
Still, Pakistan’s politics does have a history of talks preceding action. Maybe the realisation that people no longer care who was the worst of them all will make them sit down and say things that everybody wants to hear. Perhaps what has been said ad nauseum on talk shows ought to be said face to face now. But since all the questions have already been answered, and it’s still a game of who blinks first, all the talks will gain is time for the party that needs it. And only which ones needs it more remains to be seen.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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