Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf senior leader Senator Shibli Faraz on Monday urged the PML-N-led coalition government in the Centre to move beyond statements and engage in meaningful dialogues to ease political tensions in the country.
His remarks came in response to the government’s renewed offer of dialogue to the former ruling party last week. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah had said that the government remained open and willing to hold dialogue on all political matters with the opposition.
Speaking to journalists on June 26 after meeting opposition members, Sanaullah stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had extended a clear and open invitation to the opposition from the floor of the House, expressing readiness for dialogue.
“The PM even offered to meet in the speaker’s chamber if the opposition wasn’t comfortable meeting him directly,” he added. The PML-N leader was of the view that democracy moves forward through dialogue.
Reacting to the olive branch extended by the PM, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate said: “If the government is serious, it must go beyond statements and engage in sincere dialogue.”
Dialogue should not be used to create a “false” sense of normalcy, he added.
“The government should engage directly with the PTI chairman and the secretary general,” Faraz said, adding that dialogue cannot happen if the government limits the process to political statements.
He further said that talks should not be held merely for political optics.
“There must be sincerity in the negotiations, and it should be visibly clear that the government is serious,” the PTI leader added.
He urged the PM and the government to take concrete steps regarding the dialogue process.
It is pertinent to mention here that the premier has publicly and repeatedly invited PTI for dialogue in efforts to reduce political tensions and promote democratic consensus.
Most recently, during the escalation of hostilities with India, Shehbaz reached out to Barrister Gohar to take him and the PTI into confidence alongside other national leaders.
Last week, the PM walked across the floor of the National Assembly to shake hands with PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and others.
The move, though brief, stood out as a moment of political courtesy in an increasingly hostile and polarised environment.
