lato said a government should always work for the benefit of all citizens and social classes and must mediate between potentially conflicting interests. Political conflict is inherent in societies; politics provide a path for conflict management and conflict resolution through a meaningful dialogue between various stakeholders. Political conflict can either be destructive or constitutive of the social and political order – at the heart of all politics lies conflict. Conflicts are particularly endemic in post-colonial societies, especially because of a complex interface between a modern state and the traditional social ethos. Politics provides mechanisms for equitable and judicious distribution of power and resources among all citizens and social classes. It is only through political dialogue that conflicts are resolved and socio-political order is maintained.

Politics stubbornly refuses to stand still – as does time. In Pakistan’s history, too, political actors have gone through conflict and cooperation. In this teleology of political dialogue among political parties, one of the earliest was held in November 1967 when Gen Ayub Khan, then president, called an all-parties conference during the Bhutto-led anti-Ayub movement. The political parties demanded that Ayub should step down and fresh elections be held. However, Ayub refused to concede these demands and the dialogue ended inconclusively. Instead of agreeing to a political transition, Ayub transferred power to Gen Yahya, who dissolved the parliament and abrogated the 1962 constitution.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto held elections in 1977 – before his tenure had completed. However, a political stalemate followed amid allegations of massive electoral rigging. The losing parties, representing the Pakistan National Alliance, staged a massive protest demanding that the Bhutto government step down, handing over power to a caretaker setup including the opposition, and elections be held afresh. The dialogue went well and Bhutto manifested an extraordinary will and capacity to reach an agreement with his political adversaries through give and take. Preempting the finality of the agreement, the military walked in and yet another martial law was imposed by Gen Zia-ul Haq, who went on to rule for more than a decade.

Giving in to the pressure mounted by the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy, Zia agreed to hold elections. In the end, however, party-less polls – a political novelty at the time – were held. Muhammad Khan Junejo became the prime minister and held a political dialogue in the form of an all-parties conference, in the wake of the Geneva Accord to end the Afghan War. After a national consensus among political forces was proclaimed, the prime minister, instead of Gen Zia, went to sign the Geneva Accord. For this, he had the legitimacy and mandate provided by the political parties. It was one of the important factors that distinguished Junejo from Zia.

After the restoration of democracy in 1988, the establishment fanned divisions among political forces. This led to the inclusion of the army head in the power spectrum of Pakistan. The concept of a ‘troika’ got currency. Prime ministers exited after short terms. A political dialogue was organised by the government led by Nawaz Sharif on the 13^th Amendment to the constitution in April 1997 and Article 58(2)(b) of the constitution was removed. Although a longtime political adversary, the Pakistan Peoples Party, extended its support to the move. This, despite opposition leaders being hounded by the government on the pretext of accountability, manifested maturity on the part of major political parties.

The Charter of Democracy was signed by Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif on May 14, 2006, in London. It was a significant achievement the political forces reached through dialogue and consensus. Its significant features included constitutional amendments, a code of conduct, fair and free elections, and a new balance in civil-military relations reached by asserting civilian supremacy and sovereignty of the parliament. It was later owned by nearly all political parties, giving it even broader legitimacy. The success of the CoD led to yet another milestone. All political parties were represented in amending the constitution through the 18^th Amendment. It was a major constitutional restructuring after the passage of the 1973 constitution.

The establishment apparently felt cornered and sought to using the Judiciary as a destabilising agent. Superior courts and the National Accountability Bureau were used to prepare and launch what some refer to as Project Imran Khan. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was projected as a new political force claiming the mandate of the people. With the overt and clandestine support of the establishment, Imran Khan consistently rejected the possibility of a dialogue among political parties on broad political and economic issues. Once in power in 2018, he largely reversed the gains of two previous terms in civil-military relations.

During its tenure preceding 2018, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had held a successful political dialogue and reached consensus approved by the parliamentary platform in the form of the National Action Plan against extremism and terrorism in the aftermath of the deadly APS Peshawar attack on school children and teachers in December, 2014. Zarb-i-Azb became the most successful military operation ever conducted because it had the legitimacy and support of all political parties of Pakistan.

The country, once again, needs a political dialogue for a new charter of democracy to develop a consensus on political and economic issues. The state and the society were never as fractured. The country is facing multiple challenges which can only be overcome through national political consensus among all political forces – not by playing to the whims and wishes of the establishment. Pakistan is beset with a leadership crisis demanding another political dialogue.

The writer heads the History Department at University of Sargodha. He has worked as a research fellow at Royal Holloway College, University of London. He can be reached at abrar.zahoor@hotmail.com His X handle: @AbrarZahoor1