Muhammad Ali Durrani calls for national unity govt

• Politician urges political leadership to form coalition govt.
• Say they should stop aspiring for premiership.
• Durrani also welcomes Zardari for endorsing national unity govt.

ISLAMABAD: Muhammad Ali Durrani, former federal minister, has urged the leadership of all political parties to step aside from the race to reach the prime minister's house and pave the way towards forming a national unity government.

The politician told political leaders to stop aspiring for the coveted chief executive post and instead focus their abilities on forming a coalition government in the country's interest.

"Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and Imran Khan should not aspire to become prime minister and instead play their role in the formation of a national unity government in the country," Durrani said, speaking with The News on Saturday.

The politician said the PML-N, PPP and PTI leaders should put forth their candidates for the position of prime minister. He quoted examples from Britain, Ireland and South Africa where national unity governments were formed while being within the parliamentary structure to steer the country out of crises.

Durrani welcomed Zardari’s recent statement endorsing a national unity government and said leaders of other parties should also demonstrate the same mindset. He said the establishment of a national unity government after general elections would reshape the political landscape and governance model in the country where incompetence and dynastic politics were among the major stumbling blocks to progress and prosperity.

"A national unity government established through free, fair and transparent elections will strengthen the economy by ensuring stability and ending civil-military discord," the politico said, asserting that the formation of a national unity government by political parties would put an end to the policy of "selection" in the country.

Responding to a question, the former federal minister said Zardari disavowed the practice of dynastic politics in a recent interview. According to him, political parties such as the PPP and PML-N cannot sustain the continuation of this practice. He said the time had come for new entrants into politics to end the selection and dynastic politics.