Time to talk it out

PTI’s nod for talks has set the ball rolling for a broad-based political reconciliation. The initiative has been seized from a position of strength by obliging the apex court which had solicited PTI’s engagement with other political parties to iron out pestering differences. The fact that the incarcerated PTI leader had climbed down from his erstwhile position to negotiate only with the powers-that-be and is willing to rub shoulders with the ruling dispensation is a good omen. Perhaps, that is why Barrister Gohar Khan took out a leaf from Lord Palmerston’s synopsis to remind that there are no permanent friends or foes in politics. This goodwill momentum is in need of being graduated to a perpetual thaw to usher in political stability, and turn around the economy which is in a shambles.

Pakistan is on the edges as far as economic security is concerned. No amount of piecemeal injections had helped revive it, and it is an open secret that international lenders and friendly countries have time and again relented their reservations. With a budget deficit estimated at 6.9% of GDP, and a dismal performance of the economy over the last two years, attaining a minimal growth of 3% too is an uphill task. To compound the situation further is soaring inflation, socio-economic revulsion and absence of tangible foreign investment, which has literally torpedoed serenity at home. This can only be fixed by getting along with all the political forces, including the PTI, and building a national consensus in terms of doing away with prevailing political marginalisation, as well as chalking out a sustainable long-term economic reforms package.

The PTI has hinted that it is willing to talk on “elections free from rigging, a robust judiciary and release of all political prisoners”. That can be a good beginning, and should be, taking into account the popularity of PTI and its indispensability in brokering political stability. It’s time to return to rule of law, and let every organ of the state play its stipulated constitutional role. Jumping the gun has cost us dear. Bring in popular politics to flush out parochialism.