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THE Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs, Rana Sanaullah, was not far off the mark during a TV interview on Thursday when he suggested that five actors could resolve Pakistan’s long-running political crisis if they were to find common ground.
Mr Sanaullah also advised that some confidence-building measures be taken to make this possible, such as the opposition PTI distancing itself from social media campaigns and accounts that denigrate the armed forces and their leadership.
This should be welcomed as a positive signal, as should the counter-proposal from the PTI’s chief whip in the National Assembly, Malik Amir Dogar. Mr Dogar, apparently reacting to Mr Sanaullah’s statement, proposed that the government arrange a meeting between PkMAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai, MWM chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, and incarcerated PTI leader Imran Khan. “Hopefully, a path will be made,” Mr Dogar said. Unlike the rigid preconditions set in the past, these proposals sound more realistic.
Both sides should see what the other is willing to concede in its requirements for dialogue. The PTI has fought a long, damaging narrative war against those it blames for its difficulties. All it is being asked to do now is not aggravate the hostilities it has nurtured and allow for a reduction in tensions. Given that the opposing politicians still have the means to inflict more pain on the party, its leadership and its rank and file, the PTI should see this as a reasonable ask, especially if the possibility of a return to normality is attached to it.
On the other side, the government should recognise that the PTI is not asking for much. It has merely asked that two senior politicians who have already signalled their readiness for dialogue be allowed to meet Mr Khan, as they would likely attempt to reason with him.
The stakeholders should appreciate that, after a very long time, there is a possible path forward for both the government and the opposition. They must attempt to resolve their differences through negotiation. There is no question that any dialogue, if it materialises, will prove to be a difficult reckoning for each of the stakeholders involved, as mistakes aplenty have been made.
Still, it is important that a serious and committed effort, by politicians on both sides, is made. Pakistan is at a crossroads. Unless a political détente is reached, there is a significant risk that it may slip into a downward spiral that could culminate in anarchy and economic misery for its millions of inhabitants.
Mere stability is not good enough for a country of this size and potential. People have a right to prosper and live in contentment in the land they call home. The country’s leadership should consider the welfare of its people. Everything else is irrelevant.
Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2026
OICCI proposals
THE proposals of the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry, relating to Pakistan’s march towards a liberal electricity market, do not simply reflect the OICCI’s anxiety over the way reform is being executed. They also test the government’s willingness to transition to a robust Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market and power-wheeling framework. They expose a disconnect between reform aims and execution, and a power sector hampered by lack of regulatory clarity, transparency, predictable pricing and credible market institutions. It is this disconnect that worries investors. Their anxiety is reflected in OICCI’s insistence for “actionable reforms”, as poorly planned and badly executed liberalisation, marked by opaqueness, weak institutional capacity and policy reversals, will further erode investors’ trust while constraining competitiveness.
At the centre of the proposals is the demand for a cost-effective and transparent wheeling framework, with charges unbundled into clearly defined transmission, distribution, system operations and system loss components. This must restore price predictability for long-term contracts. Another proposal calls for the gradual expansion of the wheeling allocation based on improvements in grid performance, settlement efficiency and regulatory readiness. Premature scaling in a struggling system risks destabilising Discos’ finances and undermining market confidence. Charges must balance investor affordability with the financial sustainability of Discos and the broader power sector. Excessive wheeling costs will blunt competitiveness, while under-recovery will result in surcharges. Equally crucial for success is grid modernisation. Yet another important proposal concerns integration of climate and trade considerations into power reforms. Facilitating green bilateral contracts under CTBCM would allow foreign and export-oriented investors to access renewable electricity and manage carbon exposure. In this context, electricity market reform is more than an energy policy issue; it becomes an export survival strategy. The proposals also stress a single-window, time-bound regulatory approval framework across government institutions, without which even well-designed market reforms risk failure. They offer the authorities the choice of either pursuing rules-based liberalisation or continuing with piecemeal reforms that impede investment.
Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2026
Dangerous celebrations
EACH New Year’s Eve, as fireworks light the sky in much of the world, Pakistan witnesses a darker ritual. Bullets are fired into the air and return to earth with lethal consequences. This new year, in Karachi alone, at least 28 people, including a one-year-old, were injured by stray bullets during celebratory aerial firing. These are not freak accidents but predictable outcomes of a violent practice that has become normalised in our public life. A society that marks joy with gunfire must confront what that says about itself. Celebration should unite communities, not terrorise them. Yet every year, families spend the first hours of the new year rushing loved ones to emergency wards, praying that a random bullet has not permanently altered their lives.
Guns should not be symbols of festivity when they are instruments of death. That their use has become routine on national holidays and religious occasions reflects how casually violence has seeped into social expression. Warnings from police officials and appeals by public figures, have clearly not been enough. Innocent citizens, sleeping, walking, or standing on rooftops, continue to pay the price for reckless thrills. Normalising such behaviour erodes claims to civic responsibility and reveals a troubling indifference to human life. Responsibility lies with the state to move beyond ritual condemnation and take sustained, visible action. Laws against aerial firing exist, but enforcement is weak. Penalties must be strengthened, prosecutions made swift, and offenders punished. Investment in modern surveillance is critical, including expanded CCTV coverage, to identify perpetrators rather than relying on chance arrests. Enforcement, however, cannot work in isolation. A sustained mass awareness campaign is needed through public advertisements, schools and TV programming that shows the human cost of celebratory gunfire. A new year should begin with hope, not hospital admissions.
Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2026
This topic was modified 4 days ago by zarnishayat
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Posted : January 3, 2026 10:22 am