It’s time for serious and unconditional political talks. The impasse prevalent in the country, coupled with economic degeneration, can only be stemmed if political harmony is ushered in. The seven-member committee constituted by PTI chief Imran Khan for talks with the government is a welcome development, and must be reciprocated in a positive manner. The good point, however, this time around is that the PTI has offered to talk it out with the executive at the helm of affairs, and not with the Establishment, as it had been insisting for long. This climb-down has its genesis in the water that has flown down the bridge in the form of a relentless crackdown against the party in the wake of May 9 vandalism by miscreants, and the tenterhooks at which the party sits these days.
The instant response, nonetheless, from the government that it is not interested in talks needs some serious reconsideration. This is not the time for a tit-for-tat, as the coalition dispensation is constitutionally obliged to go into elections with the end of parliamentary term, and this offer of talks from the opposition should be seized to smoothen the surface for a positive interaction. The PTI by terming that it is interested in only an election schedule, and does not want to broaden the agenda of talks, has minimised its wish-list. The polarisation that is prevalent in the country, and the economic challenges in the form of absence of a deal with the IMF, can only be overcome through a broad-based dialogue. Last but not least, as the Supreme Court is set to rule on its earlier orders on holding of elections in Punjab, it is only a political agreement that can stem the rot.
Having announced a new team for talks with a new secretary general of the party, the PTI faces an in-house test of nerves. As many of its stalwarts are incarcerated, and some in hiding, the government can exhibit its political wisdom and magnanimity by providing the opposition with a level-playing field. Politics is all about talks, and there is no point in shying away from it.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2023.
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