THERE is universal consensus that political stability was a must for steady economic growth but the process of ongoing dialogue between the Government and the opposition PTI is threatened by lack of sincerity and focus on political gains. Latest signals relayed by the two sides do not seem to be conducive for substantive negotiations despite presentation of a Charter of Demands by the PTI and formation of a broad-based committee by the Prime Minister to mull over these demands and draft a response for further discussions with the negotiation team of the PTI.
No details are available but Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has concurred with PML(N) supremo Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz ahead of expiry of the seven-day self-imposed deadline for a reply to the written demands. MNS has reportedly conveyed to the PM to prioritize national interests in the talks and this can be interpreted in either way because of the given tricky situation in the country. He, however, has called for national unity, urging all political parties to come together for the good of the country. This shows pious intentions and therefore, one can expect that the Government will demonstrate necessary flexibility as its ambitious economic agenda cannot be implemented effectively without political stability. Similarly, the PTI should also realize that politics must be subservient to national interests and nothing should be done to harm short, medium or long term economic interests of the country. The comments of Irfan Siddiqui, spokesperson of the Government team (in the talks) about parallel talks with the Government and the establishment are also meaningful. However, things will become clear as far as the viewpoint of the Government side is concerned when a formal reply is given to the PTI. In a related development, doubts are also being expressed about the success of the dialogue because of allegedly provocative statements from the top leadership of the PTI targeting the Army command. We have been emphasizing in these columns, time and again, that the two sides should stop issuing provocative statements and instead agree on confidence-building measures to complement the dialogue process.
