A house divided…

This letter refers to the article ‘Moving forward after the election’ (February 15, 2024) by Husain Haqqani. Elections ought to bring about change, a fresh breeze of hope that things will get better, and guarantee political and economic stability in the country. In Pakistan, this is almost never the case. This time around, the post-polls chaos and confusion seems worse than ever. No party could win a clear-cut majority. There was a time, when Asif Ali Zardari was president and the 18th Amendment was passed, that parliament looked to be taking back the space it had lost.

Then things started to fall apart with instigation of political street agitation by the PTI and some others. Given that the PTI-affiliated candidates have a plurality, the best way for the party to ensure politicians get their initiative back is by talking to other major parties like the PPP and PML-N. Political parties work in silos upholding their own interests but for the sake of conciliation and reconciliation they do talk to each other, thereby strengthening democracy

Anas A Khan

Edmonton

Canada