EDITORIAL: Amidst an obstructive political discourse has come the good news that the PTI and the ruling coalition government have finally decided to come to the negotiating table.
The former has dropped its insistence on talking only to the ‘real wielders of power’ and sit with fellow politicians to resolve the seemingly intractable issues with fellow politicians (in a recent TV talk show, though, the Prime Minister’s adviser on political affairs Rana Sanaullah said ‘they’ are on board).
The government’s team nominated by PM Shehbaz Sharif, comprising representatives of all coalition partners, and the other by PTI founder Imran Khan held a meeting on Monday, overseen by National Assembly Speaker, Ayaz Sadiq, concluding on a positive note with both sides terming it a significant step forward.
The PTI is understood to have reiterated its two-point agenda: release of its imprisoned leaders, activists and supporters; and judicial inquiry into the May 9 riots and November 22 protest that, it says, resulted in the death of 12 people and injuries to scores of others – denied by the government.
As regards the second demand, judicial commissions have been appointed in the past, too; there should be no hesitation to do the same in the present instance and bring a closure to any suspicions the people may have about the two unfortunate incidents.
According to media reports, in the first huddle modalities of talks were discussed in a spirit of accommodation. The PTI has been asked to present its charter of demands, in a written form, at the next round of talks scheduled for January 2. This should allow both sides to apprise their respective leaderships of each other’s expectations and try and find compromise solutions.
However, overshadowing the negotiations is Imran Khans’s untenable civil disobedience call, urging Pakistanis abroad not to send remittances back home so as to hurt the government but can hurt the people more at a time the economy is already struggling for revival.
The move may also lead to trouble with FATF if even half of PTI’s supporters in other countries start using ‘hundi’ and ‘hawala’ instead of banking channel for money transfers to their families.
Surely, Khan would not want to harm the country’s interests in such a way; he needs to withdraw that call. He has also directed his party to bring on side other opposition parties, including the JUI-F, which is a sensible and effective method used in such situations to put pressure on common political opponents.
At the Monday’s meeting reportedly the PTI also sought the restoration of its share of the reserved seats, a fair ask approved by an apex court bench but resisted by the Election Commission. That though it is a non-starter at this point in time since it would deprive the ruling coalition of its majority leading to its fall.
But it should not be difficult to accept the PTI’s two key demands which, as noted above, are both reasonable and practicable. After all, politics is art of the possible. Those issues must not be allowed to further erode political and economic stability that the country badly needs.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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