By Sardar Khan Niazi
Dialogue can help identify problems. It is a good development that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, former president Asif Ali Zardari, and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari discussed opening dialogue with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan to get out of the political imbroglio.
Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday and urged the premier to open dialogue.
The prime minister received the two leaders at the PM’s House. During the meeting, the trio discussed in detail the prevailing political situation in the country. The meeting also deliberated upon the recent decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on holding the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The development came after Asif Ali Zardari urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to hold talks with the opposition party – PTI, saying that the nation cannot afford any odd situation. He requested PM Shehbaz Sharif to hold talks with the opposition and set no conditions before they begin talks.
Asif Zardari said this addressing the Convention on the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the 1973 Constitution on Monday. He also asked the opposition to call on Shehbaz Sharif for talks, as he is the prime minister. We cannot afford any odd situation now. The PTI is now approaching us for dialogue, and we want decisions in the interest of our dear motherland.
On the other hand, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has constituted a three-member committee to develop a consensus among political parties on opening a dialogue channel for the resolution of the ongoing political crisis.
The three-member committee consists of former premier Yousaf Raza Gillani, Federal Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, and SAPM Qamar Zaman Kaira. The committee will approach all parties in the coalition government to discuss the issue of dialogue among the political parties, including the PTI.
Getting the political parties engaged and moving them towards meaningful dialogue is the first step in helping to resolve complex problems and moving the process forward. This process ensures getting the responses any political party needs to make an informed decision.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s move sounds pretty like what any successful political group can do to address challenges and find a resolution to tricky problems. Meaningful conversations always aim at creating alternatives and outlining ways for resolving conflicts to benefit the overall interests of the country.
During the well-facilitated expected meeting to have a dialogue, the participants should engage positively, and adopt the right kinds of methods to ensure that they are able to contribute valuable pieces to the ongoing political puzzle.
All the participating political parties can benefit from deeper conversations and full engagement of all. A dialogue will facilitate them to keep on topic, connect related issues and comments, help identify and summarize emerging common ground or consensus, and guide them toward final decisions.
Overall, a dialogue process makes it easier for political parties to move toward meaningful decisions and achieve a common goal. Dialogue is a vehicle for problem identification and solving it. The usual modality to tackle problems in discussions. The parties engaged in a dialogue should expose their points of view, enter into a thorough exchange of ideas, and must examine each other’s points of view.
None can deny that resolution or problem-solving emerges out of consensus. In the best-case scenario, the compromise should be acceptable to all. Dialogue allows identifying problems and finding a solution to them by thinking together. Thinking together is the result of the dialogue process.
It is worth mentioning that dialogue should start with the suspension of our underlying assumptions followed by a deep inquiry into the assumptions of all the participants. Dialogue allows for the true exploration of the problem.
