PM's dialogue offer still on table: Sana

PML-N leader says political dialogue, not confrontation, is the essence of democracy

FAISALABAD:

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Senator Rana Sanaullah Khan has said political dialogue — not confrontation — is the essence of democracy, in what appears to be a reconciliatory overture towards the PTI.

"Even today Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's unconditional offer for a Charter of Stability which he made on Independence Day is valid," said Sanaullah while talking to the media after casting his vote at a by-election in his native city of Faisalabad.

The PML-N leader made the statement a day after K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who belongs to the PTI, dialled down the political heat, showing a shift from confrontation to cautious cooperation as he assured the PML-N-led federal government of his support "for the sake of peace".

"I will attend a meeting of the National Security Committee," Afridi said on Saturday, adding that he would participate in any Centre-led forum to "speak up" for provincial rights.

Sanaullah said the government is still "in favour of politicians sitting together at a table to resolve issues." The PM's adviser, however, criticized PTI founder Imran Khan, saying that the former PM "never practised democratic politics". "Whether in government or opposition as he [Imran Khan] always avoided dialogue and fuelled confrontation," he said.

Sanaullah stated that what Pakistan needed was peace and continuity of democracy. He claimed that only the PML-N had delivered national breakthroughs in the past and now it could lead the country toward sustained stability and development in the future.

He said Pakistan's greatest national achievements including becoming the first Islamic nuclear power in 1998 and securing a historic victory in the May confrontation with India had come under the PML-N leadership.

"These are the moments that brought pride not only to Pakistan but to the entire Muslim world. The 2025 victory was globally acknowledged including by India itself, marking the first time in history that the world unanimously recognized Pakistan's success in a direct military conflict," he added.

Sanaullah said Pakistan is once again on the right track, regaining global respect and moving towards becoming a developed nation, similar to the upward trajectory witnessed in the late 1990s.

He said that under the leadership of PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, PM Shehbaz, and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the direction of governance and development is now clear and promising.

He said Pakistan can no longer afford any more political engineering as the only way to move the country forward is political stability, democratic continuity and politics of service.