PRESIDENT Dr Arif Alvi, who has consistently been emphasizing the need for national reconciliation, has once again called for ‘cooperation and forgiveness’ to take the country forward. Talking to Senator Muhammad Ali Khan Durrani, he stressed the need to end bitterness, adding all political parties and their leadership should be given equal opportunities to participate in the electoral process to “strengthen democracy in the country”.
There can be no two opinions that the kind of challenges facing the country require an atmosphere of cooperation and cohesion and, therefore, one can understand the reasons behind the President’s emphasis on political and institutional unity. We have seen in the past that despite enjoying absolute powers and backing of the national institutions, governance did not improve to the satisfaction of the people and problems of the country increased with the passage of time as scant respect was paid to reconciliation and mutual accommodation which are spirit of democracy. Though the President has not pinpointed names or parties but it is quite obvious that he had in his mind his party Chairman Imran Khan and PTI when he called for level playing field. No doubt, all parties should get equal opportunities to participate in the general elections as, otherwise, it would be a futile exercise and might not help overcome challenges confronting Pakistan. In fact, the Caretaker Government, as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) too, has been extending assurances that the electoral exercise would be fully transparent. However, it has to be borne in mind that legal processes become a necessity when there are illegalities and this should not be propagated as attempts to keep someone away from the electoral process. Some political leaders are facing charges of corruption and wrong-doings and they should prove their innocence in the courts of law. The plea of the President about level playing field would become effective if he also includes other leaders like Mian Nawaz Sharif, who was kept away from elections in 2018 just to provide an edge to PTI. It may also be pointed out that while PML(N) leadership, especially Shehbaz Sharif, during his tenure as Prime Minister, kept on repeating his offer for national dialogue and made several goodwill gestures which were not reciprocated by the PTI leadership. The President is calling for ‘cooperation and forgiveness’ but the PTI leadership is still not ready to enter into a genuine dialogue as it only wants to turn the tables in its favour.
