By Sardar Khan Niazi
The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing of a petition seeking to hold general elections until April 27 after being informed that a meeting has been set between the government and the PTI for April 26 to start a dialogue.
CJP directed the federal coalition and PTI to sit together and develop a consensus on elections in the country. He also stressed the need for all political parties to work together to steer the country out of political challenges, stating that the constitutional and democratic way out of the current crisis was through elections.
The representatives of a number of political parties were present in the courtroom. Acknowledging the presence of the political leaders, the CJP expressed his gratitude and stated that the leadership was willing to address the problem at hand.
He told that relying solely on court orders to find a solution could lead to complications, but acknowledged that political parties working together could pave the way for a solution.
At the outset of the proceeding, CJP lauded the efforts of JI in holding a dialogue between the government and the opposition, saying that the court would also do its part in this good deed. He also appreciated the PPP’s stance of keeping the door for talks open.
Political leaders should realize that it is opportunistic politics, which has been the bane of our political system. As the need for political stability is central to all the major problems faced by the country, therefore thinking about making an analysis of the ongoing situation, and suggesting the spirit and attitude for a solution to it rather than articulating slogans and making public speeches, is necessary.
In making an analysis of this kind, our political leaders must not come under heavy pressure to blow their own horns and yet be apologetic for the state of affairs of the country. They had better resist such pressures. It is better for them to listen to others and make them understand their limitations, without overstatement of merits or lack of faults.
Our national leaders, from time to time display a tendency, and it is not limited to specific leaders only, to praise themselves simply for the intangible uprightness of their stated commitments, without regard to the fact whether their commitments have been fulfilled or not.
So simple an act as raising slogans for the leaders is turned into an occasion for triumph among us as if it were itself proof of the courage and moral excellence of the leaders and their followers. One often hears and reads assertions of one group’s superiority over other political groups, as if that counts in place of performance.
On the other hand, one every so often hears in justification of deficiencies in our political system that, after all, Pakistan as a state is just seven decades old. On hearing such excuses, the leaders are bound to ponder over the ground realities that the existing conditions of world politics can allow no country to announce such allowances for responsibility as might be suitable to a novice.
The country will get respect only if the political leaders of today will act responsibly. Reject the excuses based upon our past corrupt leaders there and then. Detection and confession are the first steps in the correction of wrongdoings.
The federal coalition and PTI allies must do all within their capacity to reform the social, economic, and political situation. Their leaders should shun self-praise. Only the mature and honest self-appraisal on the part of the government and the opposition can move the country in the right direction to earn the international appreciation our dear homeland has long been dreaming about.
