Moving forward

The new government should be focusing on public issues and not get involved in meaningless confrontation.

After the unfortunate acrimony during the recent election campaign, things are settling down. While the Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf (PTI) protests against alleged rigging continue, Nawaz Sharif has taken the first step to defuse the tension. His symbolic visit to see Imran Khan at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital in Lahore was a gesture that deserves much appreciation. This move was also a testament of how Mr Sharif has evolved as a national politician. Imran Khan, who earlier refused to meet the Sharifs, also showed maturity by accepting this visit.

Mr Sharif’s brief meeting with Imran Khan sets a new course for post-election politics. After the meeting, the PML-N leader also made encouraging remarks on letting bygones be bygones. Both the PML-N and the PTI would need to work together on the critical issues facing the country and their election rivalry needs to be tempered, now that the time of rhetorical duels is over.

The most important indication of political maturity comes in the form of Mr Sharif’s statement that his party respects the PTI’s mandate in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan has suffered a great deal on account of undemocratic practices in the past. The previous government respected the PML-N’s mandate in Punjab for five years and this is a healthy precedent that needs to be followed and made part of our unwritten conventions.

The charges of rigging in selected constituencies need to be handled by election tribunals at the earliest and the PTI’s genuine concerns should be allayed. It is hoped that the dangerous confrontation on the streets of Karachi will also be neutralised by adhering to the legal procedures and dialogue between the MQM and the PTI. The country cannot afford confrontation when the new governments should be focusing on public issues.

Unconfirmed media reports speculate that the Saudi Ambassador may have played a role in the Nawaz-Imran rapprochement. If true, then this is a worrying sign for we are letting external powers play an undue role in our domestic affairs. Those who resent the Western influence in Pakistani affairs are usually quiet on the role of such nations. In principle, all such meddling in Pakistan’s domestic affairs is unwarranted and the politicians should avoid it.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2013.