IN the backdrop of recurring apprehensions of institutional clash, Adviser to Prime Minister on Political And Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Friday urged “politicians, judiciary and establishment to leave their past behind” to create harmony in the country which was already stuck in quagmire of political and economic crises. Speaking in a television programme, he said that it would be wrong if politicians claimed to be innocent and shifted all blame towards the establishment and the judiciary and similarly it would be untrue if the establishment claims not to commit any kind of interference in various affairs.
Rana Sanaullah is a seasoned politician and has an understanding of the national issues and, therefore, his analysis of the situation and appeal to politicians, judiciary and establishment needs to be taken seriously by all stakeholders as there is a vivid impression that the country was headed towards wrong direction mainly because of tug of war among power players and lack of respect for rule of law and the Constitution. We have repeatedly been emphasizing in these columns that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the prevailing system and the real issue is inability of the institutions to stick to their constitutional role and avoid meddling into the domain of other institutions. What Rana said has also been underlined by different personalities on different occasions and in different contexts but regrettably no practical move was initiated to promote the objective of national cohesion and harmony. Saner voices have been urging for Grand National dialogue, establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Charter of Economy but all this has so far remained mere slogans. Rana Sanaullah has relevance as he has the portfolio of Advisor on Political and Public Affairs and one hopes he will go beyond rhetoric and put forward practical proposals for the purpose to the Prime Minister. His remarks that the Prime Minister might request President Asif Ali Zardari to play a role in this regard carry weight and this line of action must be tried as the impression of continued institutional confrontation is not only weakening national institutions but also eroding confidence of the people in them. Unfortunately, the latest wrangling comes at a time when the country is engaged in a dialogue with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a fresh bailout package and the Fund has already expressed concerns over political instability. Before an institutional dialogue is held, it is all the more important that politicians change their prevailing posture, give due importance to the parliament and shun the tendency of rejecting dialogue as has been done by leader of the house in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, who has ruled out talks with “Form-47 parties” until return of, what he called, PTI’s stolen seats and quashing cases against Imran Khan.
