Civil society has hailed the former President of Pakistan and co-chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party Mr. Asif Ali Zardari for suggesting political parties to hold a grand dialogue to steer Pakistan out of trouble.
The Mediators, a group consisting of civil society organizations and some political parties, has welcomed Asif Ali Zardari’s proposal to hold ‘unconditional’ talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. They have also requested Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to invite PTI chief Imran Khan for an open dialogue in and outside the parliament. The Mediators believe that this gesture could bring the parliament to the center stage of resolving constitutional and political crises facing the nation and ease the tension between the legislature and the judiciary.
Asif Ali Zardari, the Co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and former president of Pakistan urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to initiate talks with the opposition without any preconditions, stating that “the door for talks should never be closed in politics.” He also advised the PTI not to set any preconditions for talks. Zardari’s offer came as the PTI praised the PPP for passing a resolution stating that it did not want to malign judges and asserting that political parties did not block negotiations.
Zardari emphasized that the opposition will have to sit down with Shehbaz Sharif, as he is the prime minister of the country. He also mentioned that his party, the PPP, has been protecting Pakistan and will continue to do so in the future, aiming to hand down an integrated, not disintegrated, Pakistan to the next generation.
The Mediators hope that Zardari’s pro-talks stance can be a step towards resolving the differences between the coalition partners and the PTI, and they continue to make efforts to bridge the gap and bring all parties to the negotiation table.
