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THE interior minister’s comments at an Islamabad seminar last week have sparked many a conversation about the state of the ‘system’. Political leaders, as well as commentators, are all weighing in on the significance of his remarks, as he is seen to be close to those that matter in Pakistan.
At the event, Mohsin Naqvi had spoken, among other things, of the need for political parties to start a dialogue, and for national leaders to put aside their differences and discuss governance issues. Picking up on this thread, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, while addressing an event in Quetta on Tuesday, stressed the need for holding a multiparty moot to discuss national problems, though he was critical of Mr Naqvi’s call for new provinces. Speaking before the interior minister’s comments, the PTI had last month similarly called for a ‘grand national dialogue’ involving political parties, the establishment and civil society.
As the maulana said, “force alone cannot resolve the country’s political and security issues”. The only way out of the quagmire is sustained political engagement, and a pledge by all stakeholders to stand by the constitutional arrangement. There have been some attempts in the past, after the 2022 upheaval, to kick off a grand political dialogue, but none of these have succeeded.
