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THE start of the new year is an apt time to look ahead at the overlapping challenges the country faces, identify the core ones and consider what should be done. Needed is a national agenda on which to build a political consensus to help position the country on a sustainable path to durable political and economic stability.<\/p>\n
The first order of business should be to establish a calm and peaceful political environment by a truce between the government and opposition. A divided and polarised nation cannot be a stable country. Hard as it may be, given the lack of trust, political parties and other stakeholders should try to de-escalate unending tensions and confrontation that create so much uncertainty and disruption in the country.<\/p>\n
PTI seems willing<\/a> for a dialogue with a government it has never recognised as legitimate. This creates an opportunity that may not last long. PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari\u2019s recent statement calling<\/a> for \u201cpolitical reconciliation\u201d is a positive move that should be taken forward.<\/p>\n The government has offered<\/a> talks from time to time but never shown enough seriousness. It has usually accompanied such \u2018overtures\u2019 with rhetoric that demonises the opposition. Moreover, the way it has used parliament as a rubber stamp, bulldozed<\/a> constitutional amendments through the legislature to undermine an independent judiciary and cracked down on opposition and dissent has laid bare its disregard rather than respect for democracy.<\/p>\n Overlapping challenges facing the country are a test of leadership for all political stakeholders.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Of course, the elephant in the room is the establishment, which seems unreconciled to the idea of an accommodation between the government and opposition. It would much rather have the government keep the opposition off balance and under unrelenting pressure. Recent statements and pressers<\/a> by the military spokesman taking aim at PTI have been harder-hitting than in the past. This doesn\u2019t suggest softening in the establishment\u2019s stance on encouraging a government-opposition modus vivendi.<\/p>\n The opposition represents a large section of society and enjoys significant electoral support across the country. Actions to exclude it from the political process and repress it do nothing to create political stability. Unilateral rule not only erodes democracy but also undermines effective governance. The country\u2019s federal nature makes it imperative to operate the political system in an inclusive way, not least because the centre has to work with and not against opposition-run provinces.<\/p>\n \n