Daily Times

Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) and Jamhoori Wattan Party (JWP) have stressed the need for dialogue among the political forces to steer the country out of the prevailing political, economic and constitutional crises. During a joint press conference after their meeting with JWP head Nawabzada Shazain Bugti on Thursday, PPP leaders Syed Yusuf Raza Gillani, Qamar Zaman Kaira, and Syed Naveed Qamar called for meaningful dialogue to be initiated among the coalition parties first to address the crisis that Pakistan was currently facing.

Yusuf Raza Gillani highlighted that they approached Shazain Bugti as they believed that only the heads of political parties and political workers could diffuse the “heat and tension” in the country. He mentioned that PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had also stressed the need for initiating meaningful dialogue among political parties to “diffuse the tension in the country.” Nawabzada Shazain Bugti welcomed the PPP delegation for dialogue and stressed that the dialogue should never be deadlocked. He assured the PPP delegation that they will meet again in the next two days after consulting with his “friends in Quetta.”

Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar explained that they took the initiative to reach out to other political leaders because they believed that only the political forces could solve the problems the country had been facing. He clarified that they did not carry the agenda of any particular element, but were taking the first step towards a grand dialogue as they thought building consensus among coalition partners was crucial before inviting the opposition to talks. He also believed that dialogue is the only solution to the political, economic, and social issues faced by the country.

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira expressed that PPP believed that democracy could be successful only through dialogue, not deadlock. He was hopeful that the process of a grand dialogue, which started with the PPP leaders’ meeting with JWP leader, would pave the way for political and economic stability in the country.