In all fairness, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s bold and commendable move to attend the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) meeting should be rightly appreciated by all parties for sending a powerful message of unity and cooperation. This decision may mark the much-needed first step towards normalcy and deserves to be celebrated as such. Although CM Gandapur had previously tried to follow a similar path by assuring his support to the federation soon after he had risen to power as is the norm in our part of the world, party policies and individualistic politics often tend to stand in the path of the greater good. If today, Mr Gandapur wishes to downplay the furore over an alleged exclusion from a key moot, the prime minister would be better off playing a gracious role so that the country can finally begin to move ahead as a single unit. That unity and cooperation between different levels of government remains one of the key aspects of governance is an undeniable fact. We have repeatedly seen how tiffs between the federal and provincial governments manage to achieve nothing but colourful headlines and sheer chaos. In the past tenure, disagreements between the centre and Sindh had emerged as a significant stumbling block, impeding the progress on key initiatives. The chief minister’s office and the provincial governor were far too engaged in downplaying each other, while the then-prime minister kept provoking polarisation without worrying about the disastrous implications. Such bones of contention should be avoided at all costs. May it be the issue of taxation or provincial share in the NFC award, no one can eye any sustainable progress without sitting at the same table and engaging with each other. After all, the citizens, whether they live in Peshawar, Lahore or Islamabad, belong to the same country and should not be forced to suffer just because some men care more for their own whims than their welfare. *