So, are Jamaat-i-Islami’s (JI) efforts bearing fruit? It seems so on the face of it. Both Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) have agreed to hold talks, though indirectly, and have formed their respective panels for the purpose. Talks, however, would be held via the JI. The country has been embroiled in a political crisis for over a year now since Imran Khan’s government was ousted. Ever since it was swept out of power, the PTI has been demanding early elections, and to put pressure on the government, it has staged long marches.
After the Azadi March and the Haqeeqi Azadi March failed to compel the government to announce elections, the party changed its tactics and dissolved the provincial governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab where it was in power. As per the Constitution, elections are to be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the assemblies. However, the government insists that the polls will be held as per schedule in October and that holding elections in the two provinces separately from the rest of the country would create doubts about the fairness of the polls.
The issue landed in the Supreme Court (SC), which issued a verdict that the elections be held on May 14 and that it should be kept in the loop regarding the release of funds required to undertake the exercise. The government, on the other hand, is not willing to conduct elections, citing a shortage of funds. This whole scenario has pitted the judiciary and the executive against each other, giving rise to a constitutional crisis. Pakistan has been in the grip of a multitude of problems – be it political, security, economic, or constitutional.
On top of all this, people have been crushed by record inflation and reduced incomes. The prevailing conditions have eroded the purchasing power of the common man. With dwindling foreign reserves, Pakistan is relying heavily on the International Monetary Fund (IMF), other international lenders and friendly countries to help it come out of the economic quagmire. Under this situation, there was a need for someone to help end the stand-off between the warring parties.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) supported talks despite the opposition from its coalition partners – the PML-N and the JUI-F. The party had even formed a committee comprising Senator Yousuf Raza Gillani, Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira to talk with their allies in the government and convince them on holding dialogue. However, it was JI Emir Sirajul Haq who managed to end the deadlock. He held separate meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PTI Chairman Imran Khan to bring both sides to the table.
The PML-N has deputed Ayaz Sadiq and Saad Rafique to hold talks with the PTI’s three-member committee comprising Pervez Khattak, Mehmoodur Rashid, and Ejaz Chaudhry. Besides, the JI would be convening a multi-party conference after Eidul Fitr on a single-point agenda of holding general elections across the country on the same day. The purpose of the conference will be to persuade both the ruling coalition and the PTI to soften their stance on the polls issue. The coalition government needs to be convinced that it should hold an election before October, and the opposition PTI should be asked to let go of its demand for polls on May 14.
Both the PML-N and PTI should realise that they need to step back from their respective stance if they want things to move forward.
Ego and stubbornness would lead us nowhere.
