Confrontation between institutions unhealthy for Pakistan: Rabbani

By
Murtaza Ali Shah
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Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani addressing the launch ceremony of his book, Invisible People, in Central London. Photo: Geo News 
 

LONDON: Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani has said that institutional clashes are not good for Pakistan and it's important for all stakeholders to talk to each other to resolve their issues and move forward.

Speaking to Geo News in an interview at the launch of his book ‘Invisible People’ in Central London, the senate chairman said institutional dialogue is important to pave way for the future. 

“Institutional dialogue is important. My suggestion of national dialogue had nothing to do with the national dialogue proposed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. I proposed national dialogue amongst the four pillars of the state so they could engage with each other and remove misconceptions. It’s about various stakeholders.”

He refused to give his opinion on Nawaz Sharif’s controversial disqualification by the Supreme Court but said that Pakistan is going through a lot of tensions and political instability.

He said that institutional clashes are unhealthy for the state and its progress. He said it’s the parliament that should take lead on all these matters. 

On Trump's statements against Pakistan, he remarked that the National Assembly and the Senate came together and led a strong response to the recent statements. 

He said this showed how institutions come together and the difference they can make. “It was remarkable in the way both houses dealt with this issue, all stakeholders were on board.

US President Donald Trump in a recent statement had claimed that Pakistan is supporting "agents of chaos". 

Raza Rabbani said that there should be accountability for all and not for a selected few. He referred to an open letter he recently wrote to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) demanding “accountability across the board”.

Invisible People

Upon his collection of short stories, titled Invisible People, he said that is about the exploited and neglected majority of Pakistan who has no voice and no representation. 

“It’s a sad fact of life that upper classes use and abuse the poor people and don’t care about their being and their humanity, for them the poor class are a non-people," he said.  

"The privileged class doesn’t care about the issues and problems of the downtrodden, they don’t matter. I wrote Invisible People to highlight the class that’s invisible and that needs to be brought to front. These are the real people, they should be the biggest stakeholders of Pakistan. They should be part of the national decision making.”

Rabbani stressed that Pakistan cannot move forward till the poor are given the ownership of the system.

He said that the state doesn’t seem ready to give ownership to the exploited class and that’s a huge issue because the poor people are struggling to find their true identity and as a result, there’s a huge disconnect between the real people and the state.