Inter-institutional dialogue remains a far cry

ISLAMABAD: Any chance for the much-needed inter-institutional dialogue remains a far cry as there seems to be no end to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s rigidity on the one hand and the bad blood between the PML-N and the establishment on the other.

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s hawkish tone and tenor vis a vis the opposition remains unchanged and there is no indication of him taking the initiative to sit with his opponents to discuss the key issues bedevilling the nation.

Only a few days ago, the premier had asked the speaker of the National Assembly to constitute a parliamentary committee comprising members from both sides of the political divide to reach a consensus on electoral reforms. Of late, some of his ministers have also invited the opposition for talks on the same set of reforms. However, the premier seems strongly averse to personally involving himself in interacting with the opposition – an aversion he does not hide. Imran Khan’s contempt towards the opposition -- particularly the Sharifs, Zardari and the Maulana – shows no sign of abating. The NA speaker Asad Qaiser has been offering the opposition a grand dialogue “involving all stakeholders” but he holds no weight in wooing the opposition for talks, particularly when the prime minister remains rigid and inflexible towards his political adversaries. Politically, the prime minister believes that his following and his voters will remain intact only if he continues with his tirade against the opposition and dubs them as ‘chor’ and ‘daku’. He seems convinced that he will lose politically if he sits with the opposition for a dialogue to resolve major issues. This kind of thinking can only bring further political instability-- that is actually more damaging for the government than the opposition. However, Khan, according to sources close to him, refuses to understand this simple point. Given this background, the strained relationship between the establishment and the PML-N suits the politics of Imran Khan and the PTI. The politics of the PPP, whose chairman Bilawal Bhutto had initially coined the terms of ‘selected’ and ‘selector’, is no more disturbing for the establishment as the party leaders have stopped attacking the military leadership and focused their assault on Imran Khan.

The PML-N, however, continues to attack the powers that be. Nawaz Sharif continues to hold Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and the DG ISI Lt Gen Faiz Hamid responsible for the present political situation as well as the excesses meted out to the Sharif family. Recently, Nawaz even accused the establishment of threatening his daughter Maryam Nawaz.

The establishment is also accused of using various coercive measures against the Sharifs. NAB, which has now again focused on Maryam and other PML-N leaders including Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, is accused by the PML-N of acting at the behest of the establishment. The DG ISPR has repeatedly said that the army is not involved in any political matters but the PML-N rejects these claims and insists that the establishment is neither neutral nor apolitical. This highly polarised situation is very ominous for Pakistan, more so because there seems no hope of an early end to the stand-off. Everyone is a loser in this fraught political environment. The polarization is hurting the government's performance, governance, the economy and much more. It is denting the reputation of institutions. It is neither good for the PTI nor for the PML-N. Without an inter-institution dialogue process, matters are bound to deteriorate even further. However, it is still unclear who will reach out and take the initiative to propose such a grand national dialogue. All parties concerned --particularly Prime Minister Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif and the establishment --need to step back, show some flexibility and think beyond their personal, political and institutional interests to pave the way for a meaningful inter-institutional dialogue for the sake of constitutional rule and for the sake of Pakistan. Will they grasp this nettle?