Facilitation, arbitration and conciliation

Has PML-N played a loose hand?

If the purpose behind the talks between the COAS and the leaders of the protesting parties was to bring down the political temperature, this has not happened. The affair led the opposition, which has steadfastly opposed any extra-constitutional step, to ask the government to explain its position. The opposition was irked at the claims by the protesting leaders that the government had sought army’s role as arbitrator and conciliator. Besides principled objections to allowing army a space in political dialogue the opposition was pained to find that the government had failed as before to take into confidence the parliamentary parties which are backing it at a crucial time.

It was implied in Sharif’s statement on the floor of the House that the PTI and PAT had in fact asked for a meeting with the COAS. To a telephonic call from army seeking government’s permission for the COAS to meet with Imran and Qadri, he had said that they have requested the meeting and if General Raheel Sharif wants to meet them, he should go ahead.

When Leader of the Opposition called upon the ISPR to clarify the position, pat came the reply that the request to act as facilitator had come from the government side.

Whether what was asked for was facilitation, arbitration or conciliation is a matter of semantics. The move brought no dividend to the PML-N. Imran Khan and Qadri who had exhausted their store of tricks during the daily speeches delivered several times a day over a whole fortnight, seized upon the issue to launch acerbic attacks on Sharif.

If the idea was to seek the army’s help to resolve the crisis, it failed to achieve the objective. There was no flexibility in the stand of the two parties whose fire eating leaders continued with the harangue. Nawaz Sharif cannot afford estrangement with the opposition at this crucial moment. He needs to take it into confidence before launching any important move.