ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Khawaja Saad Rafique on Tuesday called for comprehensive and meaningful negotiations between the government and opposition, urging all stakeholders to agree on a “Charter of Pakistan” to address the country’s political, economic and security challenges.
In a detailed post on X, formerly Twitter, Rafique said it was already too late and warned that further delays in meaningful dialogue could prove costly for the country.
He said comprehensive, multi-dimensional negotiations between the government and opposition had become essential, while also urging the powerful establishment to play its role in the process.
Rafique proposed a national agenda centred on Pakistan’s security, unity and development. He said the proposed Charter of Pakistan should include respect for the Constitution and rule of law, permanent safeguards against constitutional violations, transparency and justice, economic revival and collective efforts to combat terrorism.
He also called for an independent election commission and guarantees for free and transparent elections without pressure, along with a parliament that genuinely represents the people.
Ending political vendettas, combating corruption and ensuring good governance should also form part of the national agenda, he said.
Rafique stressed the need for greater self-reliance in energy and water resources, equitable distribution of national resources and a strong local government system.
He also proposed a future roadmap built around a responsible and empowered judiciary.
The PML-N leader warned that unchecked use of state or collective power could quickly turn into oppression and exploitation, ultimately causing those exercising such power to lose sight of the country’s broader interests.
He said Pakistan had repeatedly lost its way and that all political actors had contributed, to varying degrees, to the country’s deterioration.
Rafique warned that the process was continuing and gradually weakening the country from within.
“For the sake of the country, wake up; recognise the facts; move forward; tolerate one another; talk; learn to coexist,” he said.
He argued that Pakistan had already experimented with numerous political arrangements without achieving lasting results.
Rafique said the country should now try implementing the Constitution according to its spirit, expressing hope that this approach could provide a way forward.
