The way out

Pakistan’s politics of late has been chaotic, best described by ‘stalemate’, ‘quagmire’, ‘paralysis’, ‘clash of narratives’ and so on. Although, for many, things have already come to an unforgivable pass, for the country’s economy and its people’s general wellbeing it is time now to actively look for a way out before it’s much too late. Perhaps this applies the most to Imran Khan and his PTI. There are signs already that the PTI may be looking for a way to back away from its now-somewhat-subdued ‘foreign conspiracy’ narrative. There have also already been reports and rumours of backdoor efforts at getting stakeholders together for a resolution to the political chaos in the country. In this regard, President Dr Arif Alvi has recently revealed that his backdoor efforts – presumably between the PTI and the establishment – have not been successful. Maybe it is time for the political class to try to talk to each other. Outsourcing political decisions has always led to the most unsavoury consequences, not only for democracy but the political class on its own as well.

While there was some chatter among political observers of yet another round of talks between the PTI and the PML-N, one wonders if the trust deficit between Imran Khan and the Sharifs is too big for that to happen as smoothly as thought. Some serious efforts need to be made by both sides to bridge this gap. For all the throwback to the 90s, times have changed on our political landscape. No longer is this a battle between two parties. It may not be as easy to sign a charter of democracy today, with political polarization at its height and political toxicity almost the ethos of at least one major party. Which is why it is far more important for all sides, especially the PTI, to take a step back and initiate talks with each other.

As a first step, the PTI may want to start allowing processes to move forward, such as the Wazirabad investigation. Under the circumstances – with the FIR under serious shadows – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer of a thorough investigation into the attack by a full bench commission of the Supreme Court is the right way to go about it. Imran has named names. These are serious charges and they need to be investigated – and the PTI needs to let that happen. If a full bench commission is formed, it can probe the allegations without any pressure from the system. It is important that an investigation takes place because this was no ordinary attack. If the PTI’s own government in Punjab is unable to move forward on this issue, then the commission is even more advisable given the fragility of the situation. The system cannot sustain this instability and uncertainty any longer. Given recent political developments, Imran and the other parties’ leaders would be surprised to know just how similar they all are in many ways. If they were smarter , they would initiate a dialogue towards electoral reforms, a consensus on the ECP, a consensus on the economic outlook and a consensus on the political system. Without dialogue, we can only see more months of instability and – if some rumours are to be believed – a longer interim system.