Efforts on the part of Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Chief Sirajul Haq to bring both the PDM and the PTI to the table of negotiations to develop consensus on the simultaneous election in the country are really appreciable, but the statements being made by those in the coalition government including Chief of JUI (F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman as well as the PPP and the PML-N leadership are really worrying to the extent that has apparently dampened the prospects of any talks taking place.
It is really important to carefully analyze the statements of the coalition leaders. During a presser on Friday, Maulana Fazlur Rehman rejected the possibility of holding talks with the PTI and said the Supreme Court, which has asked all political parties to hold a dialogue and reach a consensus on a date for the elections, was being “oppressive.
In a separate news conference, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, whilst stressing dialogue, also stated in the same breath that talks cannot take place with guns to the head. He, in fact wanted the suspension of the Supreme Court’s order of holding Punjab elections on 14th May.
PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz , who is in Saudi Arabia these days, stated in a tweet that talks can be held with political parties but not the anarchists and the terrorists. These statements only indicate that they are not at all serious for dialogue rather want the continuation of political tension for their own petty political interests.
The very meetings of Siraj ul Haq with PM Shehbaz Sharif and PTI Chairman Imran Khan on the same day in Lahore had certainly raised hopes of dialogue between the two rival groups. However, the recent harsh statements give the impression that the talks will collapse even before their start- something which the country cannot afford and also it will amount to putting the democracy in danger.
Regardless of the arrests and the cases registered against the entire PTI leadership, the party Chairman Imran Khan has demonstrated some sort flexibility in stance and if the government parties turned their back, the situation could go worse keeping in mind also that the Supreme Court will not take back order of polls in Punjab until and unless the political parties come together and develop consensus on the election date.
Given the current political tension and polarization that has not spared any institution, conduct of the general elections on one day is the only way forward through which the country can again be put on the path of political and ultimately economic stability.
There is a point in the statement of Jamaat-e-Islami Chief’s statement that both the PTI and the PDM will have to demonstrate flexibility and find the middle ground. Whilst rising above their egoistic politics, the coalition government will have to agree to a date before October and the PTI after May.
Instead of taking a fight with other constitutional institutions, political leaders need to demonstrate to the public that they are mature enough to address their issues through negotiations. They have to take this course before the public, already bitten hard by the price hike and unemployment loses confidence on all of them.
Hence better sense should prevail, and saner elements which are present in these political parties should take center stage to move matters in the right direction. The focus of dialogue should also be ensuring free, fair and transparent elections in a peaceful environment. Those sitting in the government must understand that the next elections are not the end of the world.
If the PTI is riding on a popularity wave today, then tomorrow may be their turn but they should refrain from setting such precedence which haunts them in future. The political leaders need to learn a lesson from their follies before it is too late. This politics of victimization, vengeance and confrontation must come to an end for the sake of a better future of the country.
![NEW YORK: Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, leading Pakistan’s high-level parliamentary delegation, on Tuesday warned that India's aggressive actions pose a serious threat to peace in South Asia and urged the international community to take note of India's aggressive conduct. Bilawal was addressing a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York on recent regional developments after the military conflict between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani delegation is in New York to present Pakistan’s stance on the military escalation with India and to challenge New Delhi’s narrative at the global level. The visit is part of Pakistan’s sustained diplomatic outreach to brief key UN stakeholders on the alarming regional situation. The Pakistani delegation is also scheduled to arrive in Washington today, where it plans to engage with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, other senior officials, lawmakers, and think tanks till June 6. The team will also visit London and Brussels. Speaking at the press conference, Bilawal said that he wanted to use the opportunity to share Pakistan’s perspective on the recent military conflict with India in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and the way forward. Bilawal said that the “illegal strikes” launched by India as part of its ‘Operation Sindoor’ were “in violation of the UN Charter, international law”. He said the attacks had targeted civilian infrastructure, places of worship, energy infrastructure and innocent women and children. He said India had used the April 22 terrorist attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam as a pretext to launch the attack inside Pakistan. Following the Pahalgam incident, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered publicly to India that Pakistan was ready to be part of any impartial international investigation into this attack. “We did so because we were confident, our hands were clean and we had nothing to do with this terrorist attack. “We expressed our sympathy with the victims of terrorism and Pakistan has consistently and unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he said, adding that PM Sharif had immediately expressed Pakistan’s willingness to India and the global community to be part of any impartial international investigation. “Indian government refused Pakistan's offer and chose instead to conduct their illegal strikes. Pakistan only then acted in self-defence, we never initiated any violence against India,” Bilawal said. Bilawal emphasised that Pakistan never initiated hostilities against India but responded to Indian aggression by downing six Indian fighter jets. "The Pakistani military had responded with precision the night of the first Indian attack and only targeted and downed six planes because we believed those were the ones to release their load on Pakistan”. He stated that US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio played a vital role in achieving a ceasefire during heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours. “We’ve seen during the course of this conflict how quickly the escalation ladder between our two countries rose and the concern is that the next time there is such an incident, there may not be time for the international community to intervene before things get a lot worse. That is why it is absolutely important for Pakistan and the international community to continue to pursue dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable path to peace.” He said Pakistan’s position was to hold a “comprehensive dialogue” with India that would include the issue of terrorism as well. The head of the Pakistani delegation said that no civilized nation can support the use of water as a weapon and urged the international community to play its part, questioning, "What would be the global reaction if someone’s lifeline was cut off?" He stressed that Pakistan has paid a heavy price in the fight against terrorism and has suffered the most. “The single largest number of terrorist attacks that take place in any one country is Pakistan. The single largest number of victims of terrorism is Pakistan. I myself have suffered at the hands of terrorists. My mother [Benazir Bhutto] was assassinated by the terrorists.” Bilawal also criticised India for targeting water reservoirs and civilian areas, including mosques, during its attacks. Calling negotiations the only path to peace, Bilawal reiterated that the unresolved Kashmir dispute remains the root cause of regional instability. He urged the global community to take notice of India’s aggressive conduct.](https://wenewsenglish.com/storage/2025/06/Bilawal-Bhutto-Zardari-300x180.jpg)
