Elections san results-oriented political dialogue to remain unproductive: Experts
PESHAWAR (APP): The future of democracy and political parties are interlinked. It is the political parties that strengthen democracy and form government after winning the election.
Political experts said the democratic system cannot strengthen its roots in the country unless all the stakeholders including religious and political parties sit together for results oriented grand political dialogue to seek solutions to the prevailing socio economic challenges and holding of free and transparent simultaneous election.
“The political dialogue is considered an effective tool in a democratic setup, which resolved political issues and removed misunderstanding among political players amicably and ensuring smooth transition of power through mutual consensus,” said Professor Dr AH Hilali, former Chairman Political Science Department University of Peshawar while talking to APP on Sunday.
He said political parties bring legitimacy to the elections and the government came into existence after free and transparent polls.
He said principles of democracy were primarily based on tolerance, accommodation and respecting each other’s viewpoints and political mandates rather than implementing personal agenda through agitation and confrontation.
Welcoming efforts of Amir of Jumat e Islami, Sirajul Haq to bring Govt-Opposition closer for a grand political dialogue and subsequently formation of a three members committee by the PTI for simultaneous election, Dr Hilali said in democratic system, the doors to political dialogue among religious and political entities are always open.
He said Pakistan was passing through a critical political, economic and legal phase since of its creation 75 years ago and it was the spirit of age that all political and religious leadership and heads of the state institutions work with national harmony and cohesion in order to take the country out of existing economic quagmire.
He said political dialogue between the government and opposition would help evolve the much needed consensus for holding elections on the same day inevitable for political and economic stability in Pakistan.
He said democracy was derailed four times in Pakistan due to absence of political dialogue among political parties, which resulted in socioeconomic imbalances, poverty and weakened democratic institutions in the past.
Dr Hilali said the government of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was dismissed after the 9 religious and political parties under the platform of Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) launched agitation movement, claiming rigging in 1977 elections.
In-spite of strong denial of the rigging allegations by PPP, he said PNA’s agitation movement had sparked riots, unrest and incurred colossal economic losses to the country and subsequently democracy was packed up for the third time on July 5, 1977.
He said the absence of political dialogue during 90s had also led to the premature dissolution of the elected assemblies and the governments of former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and PMLN Quaid Nawaz Sharif on allegations of riggings in elections and its negative outcome came before us in the shape of fourth martial law on October 12, 1999.
He said the government of Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was later restored by the SC after all allegations against him were not proved.
Professor Hilali said unfortunately our politicians did not learn lessons from history and again started wrangling by closing the doors of political dialogue despite the country’s difficult economic situation.
“In democratic setup, the doors of negotiations between political parties were never kept closed and there was always flexibility and logic to move forward,” said assistant professor, Dr Muhammad Naeem of the Economics Department, Swabi university.
He said the political mercury that touched new height of confrontation after the dissolution of Imran Khan Government through a successful no confidence motion needed to be brought down through a constructive and meaningful political dialogue between the Government and opposition parties.
Besides the country’s poor economic situation, he said that political negotiations were also inevitable on elections’ reforms so that no political party could raise fingers on the election results.
By dissolving the Punjab and KP assemblies, Imran Khan had pushed himself towards a narrow street and lost footings in KP and Punjab.
“If Bangladeshi leaders Hasnia Wajid and Khalida Zia could sit across the table for the sake of their countrymen, then why the government and opposition parties in Pakistan can’t sit together for holding a grand dialogue of political reconciliation.”
Wajid Ali, ANP leader accused PTI’s former lawmakers for depriving their electorates from development funds in upcoming budget in KP, Punjab, Centre and left hundreds of thousands of floods victims in these provinces alone after prematurely dissolving the two provincial assemblies.
KP has been pushed to the verge of financial default by the PTI rulers, who failed to take up the case of billions of rupees net hydel profit’s arrears with the federation despite Imran Khan’s government at that time.
He said that Billion trees afforestration project has been taken over by the NAB while BRT Peshawar was completed on very high-cost compared to Islamabad and Multan metros thus wasted the taxpayer money.
The ANP leader said the construction work on long awaited Arbab Niaz Cricket stadium Peshawar has been left uncompleted by the PTI incompetent rulers while construction work on Kalam sports stadium in Swat could not be started despite being the home town of former Chief Minister KP Mahmood Khan.
Traffic jam in Peshawar City has made lives of Peshawarties miserable due to wrong planning in BRT’s corridor and not a single hospital was completed in Peshawar by the PTI in its long nine years and six months rule, thus exerted extra burden of patients in Lady Reading Hospital and Khyber Teaching Hospital at Peshawar.
Ikhtair Wali Khan, PMLN Spokesman and former member provincial assembly while talking to APP said that his party believed in political dialogue and our doors are always open for all parties for results oriented dialogue on all issues including elections.
Ikhtair claimed that PTI had never positively reciprocated to the Govt dialogue offer and has escaped of dialogue due to stubbornness and egoism of Imran Khan.
He said PTI has deceived people on the hollow slogan of “ accountability and change” as the former PTI former Government in KP itself closed its own Ehtishab Commission at Peshawar besides the province was put under huge loans burden.
He said the government has reached close to ink deal with IMF to take the country out of the economic and financial crisis while a political party that dissolved its own assemblies and governments in KP and Punjab was now demanding elections for which billions of rupees required.
He said the separate elections in KP and Punjab and other provinces and centre would further aggravate the political and economic situation in the country.
“The PTI leadership had made a big political blunder by dissolving the KP and Punjab assemblies and their demand for early elections in these provinces in the wake of the poor economic situation of Pakistan was irrational and beyond logic.”
He asked Imran Khan to leave egoism and stubbornness and sit with the government for initiation of a result-oriented and meaningful political dialogue for simultaneous elections inevitable for legitimacy of the future government, polls results and saving of billions of rupees for the national kitty.
He said early elections in Punjab and KP would have a direct effect on the national assembly and SIndh and Balochistan’s polls.
Hamaza Khan, PMLN Nowshera President said the progress and prosperity of the country was linked with the supremacy of Parliament.
He said it was the Parliament that had approved a unanimous constitution for the country in 1973 and fixed powers of all the state institutions including judiciary.
He said the economically rising Pakistan in 2013-17, had been pushed back after the disqualification of a three times elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the filmsy ground of not taking salary from his son in the Panama case.
He said conspiracies were again started after the government has reached close to IMF agreement.
He said Imran was imposed on the country under a well conceived plan to damage the national economy and institutions.
He said PMLN Quaid Nawaz Sharif currently performing Umra in Saudia Arabia, was living in people’s hearts while today nobody know about the then judges who disqualified him on filmsy grounds.
He claimed the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif has enabled Imran to reach the power corridors in 2018 and later the then top court judge issued ‘Sadiq and Ameen’ certificate to PTI Chief whose credentials was later exposed in PTI foreign funding case.
He said the time to make politicians scared or kept them silent has gone and today the entire nation was agreed that the country would be governed only through constitution.
He said the price hike could be reduced and economic development would go fast if the policies of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif continued after the election.
