The invitation to dinner by the newly-appointed Punjab governor Sardar Latif Khosa to the Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif and his cabinet, as part of the policy of reconciliation that the PPP has vowed to pursue in the future, will augur well for the country and its economy.
As the governor has said, the move would help the system enter a new era of conciliation, which in fact is the need of this hour. Large-scale dislocation of population, the loss of infrastructure and crops that the super flood has caused as well as the worsening energy deficit, have all become major challenges for the government. It also faces the Herculean task of reconstruction and rehabilitation, which will take years to complete.
Obviously, the country can be pulled out of the crisis through a spirit of co-operation and reconciliation for which political consensus and co-operation is absolutely necessary. A positive mindset will certainly help the stakeholders bury the hatchet of political vendetta that has held the system hostage over the decades.
Talking to the press, while laying a floral wreath at the Mazar-e-Iqbal, Khosa has alluded to the Charter of Democracy that the late Benazir Bhutto had inked with the PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif. He has vowed to implement the Charter. All this represents a good beginning that needs to be appreciated, as it can help pave the way towards political reconciliation in the country's largest province, which has historically been at the centre of all political tugs-of-war. It is hoped that Khosa's invitation will be replicated by Prime Minister Gilani to Nawaz Sharif at some future date, which will help bolster the spirit behind the initiative.
Enlightened diversity is a part of a mature political dispensation, which can help further refine the system, so that it becomes an instrument of national cohesion. A two-party system is a symbol of political maturity, what can best serve our country's interests. The splintering of political parties into groups and factions, while it has imparted diversity to the system is considered a retrogressive development.
The PPP and PML have, over the decades, become major props of Pakistan's political spectrum that needs to be nurtured to strengthen the roots of democracy in the country. Stretches of non-democratic and fake "democratic" rule in Pakistan over the decades has done great harm to the country. Khosa's dinner invitation to Shahbaz, in a way, has great symbolic value, which needs to be capitalised through sincerity of purpose by the two mainstream parties to turn a new leaf.
The two parties have indeed mounted occasional attempts to secure reconciliation in the past, with the most significant initiative being the signing of the Charter of Democracy, which however remains unimplemented. Khosa's pledge on behalf of the PPP that the party would implement the Charter augurs well, provided there is reciprocity in equal measure by all political players. Mutual suspicion and group interests in the past have thwarted such moves, which was unfortunate.
The political players need to begin anew with a clean slate, in the larger interests of the country and its inflation-hit, mostly poverty-ridden population deprived of all necessities. A genuine representative and accountable system can bring numerous benefits to the country and its people. The stretches of the quasi-democratic system we have had in the country, needs to be made fully democratic, equipped with foolproof accountability mechanisms, and genuine rule of law, which alone can curb the cancer of corruption and misgovernance.
The government must ensure corruption-free governance, widen the tax net for larger revenue generation, and make the administration slim and effective in order to ensure good governance and rule of law. There should be reciprocity in equal measure to Khosa's initiative. All the stakeholders need to extend a helping hand so that the system can be put back on rails.