Time to reconcile

Amidst the hostile political environment, the recent meeting of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur with federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and other officials of the central government has raised hopes for a badly needed political reconciliation.

CM Gandapur hinted at working with the federal government to sort out the issues being faced by his province. The federal government also adopted a reconciliatory approach towards the insurgency-hit province that has been facing a myriad of problems.

But soon after this meeting, the chief executive of KP started sending confusing messages that may not go down well with those who are seeking cordial ties between Peshawar and Islamabad. This is not the first time that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has allegedly sent confusing signals. It has done so several times during the past two years.

Sometime back, former prime minister Imran Khan expressed his willingness to talk to the establishment for the greater good of the country, dispelling the impression that his party is against the army. Similarly, some other PTI leaders have also expressed a desire to have cordial relations with the establishment.

Some retired generals, including former defence secretary General (r) Naeem Khalid Lodhi, have also made hectic efforts to end the trust deficit that exists between the largest party of Pakistan and the power stakeholders in the country. So far, these efforts have not yielded any results because of the tussle within the PTI between the hawkish and moderate elements. The hardliners are advocating for a tough policy towards the powers that be while the moderates are wishing for breathing space for a party that has already been pushed against the wall.

It is not only the PTI that has been sending confusing signals but the state also seems to have an ambiguous position over the issue of political reconciliation. It seems that they have provided an opportunity to the PTI to sincerely tender an apology and move forward but the PTI has remained adamant, seemingly asserting that there is no rationale for the party to surrender and publicly apologize. On the contrary the party, in a way, has demanded an apology from the powerful elements of the state which it says launched a ruthless crackdown against the party, arresting thousands of workers and destroying the businesses of PTI leaders.

On the other end, it has been made very clear that those who were responsible for the May 9 incident cannot be pardoned. The powerful elements of the state have hinted at coming down hard on those who dared to challenge the writ of the state or unleash malicious campaigns against the institutions that have been protected by the constitution from any negative propaganda.

It is heartening to see that despite all these exchanges of statements, Gandapur attended the meeting of the Special Investment Facilitation Council. Earlier, he and his cabinet also held a meeting with the corps commander of Peshawar, which created an impression that the PTI was ready to forget the past and move forward but amidst these exchanges of pleasantries Imran Khan’s statement on X (formerly Twitter) created acrimony again. The statement compared the current situation with that of 1971.

In addition to that, the PTI’s critics point out that the party ran a robust campaign on the Hamood ur Rehman Commission report on X, quoting different paragraphs from the report to allegedly vilify institutions.

This is not the only tension in the country; it seems state institutions are also on a collision path. Many analysts fear that such a collision could have catastrophic consequences not only for the PTI but the entire country too.

The PTI needs to understand that a confrontational policy did not help it in the past and it is not likely to be helpful this time. When Imran Khan was ousted from the power corridors of Islamabad, his party still had governments in Punjab, KP, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. Imran had a chance to deliver in these four places where his party was ruling but he allegedly used the executive powers of GB to create confrontation between the local police and the federal government’s authorities. This did not go down well with the decision-makers and Khan’s government were dislodged discreetly in GB and AJK while he shot himself in the foot by dissolving the PTI governments in Punjab and KP.

What is done cannot be undone but the PTI should now move forward and adopt a reconciliatory approach towards the federal government and the biggest stakeholder of the state. The law and order situation is deteriorating with every passing day in KP. The resurgence of the TTP is haunting millions of people in the former tribal districts and even parts of the settled areas.

Gandapur, being the chief executive of the province, knows very well that the federating unit does not have the required capacity to fight the menace of terrorism on its own. It badly needs the assistance of the federal government. In addition, coordination between Peshawar and Islamabad is also profoundly important to prevent the resurgence of terror. Such a resurgence would not only create problems for all political parties, including the PTI, but the federal government as well.

Therefore, it is important that political leaders in Islamabad and Peshawar shun their differences and make efforts to jointly deal with this threat of terrorism. Islamabad must address the issues related to power generation besides extending help to the province to deal with other problems. The PTI government in Peshawar should also stop hurling threats at the federal government as such provocative statements would only harm the party and the government there.

If direct contact between the two governments is not possible then some impartial politicians should be engaged to reach out to the two parties and other stakeholders, convincing them to sit together to address the crippling economic situation that has created immense hardships for the ordinary citizens of this country. Former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani, former chief minister of Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik, former MNA Farhatullah Babar and PPP leader Taj Haider could be approached to help with this reconciliation. If the PTI is not ready to talk to politicians, which is unfortunate, it must at least agree to talk to civil society members who could act as a bridge between political parties.

The PML-N and PTI should remember the bitter history of the country which plunged into a dark era of dictatorship a number of times because of tensions between political parties. Given all this, it is time to end political confrontation and seek political reconciliation.

The writer is a freelance journalist who can be reached at: egalitarianism444@gmail.com