Five jailed PTI leaders call for dialogue with PM on ‘Charter of Pakistan’

LAHORE: Five senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders imprisoned in Kot Lakhpat Jail have urged the opposition to respond positively to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s outreach by pushing for a broader national dialogue on what they described as a ‘Charter of Pakistan’ rather than limiting talks to the economy alone.

In a joint letter dated June 17, the leaders — Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Ejaz Chaudhry and Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed — appealed to National Assembly Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan. The letter was shared by their counsel, Rana Mudassar Umer.

The jailed leaders said Pakistan was at a decisive moment and referred to the government’s recent invitation to the opposition to sign a Charter of Economy. They argued that while economic reform and policy continuity remained important, the more basic issue was whether lasting economic stability could be achieved without political stability and constitutional clarity.

According to the letter, the five leaders maintained that experience showed that a strong economy could not take root where constitutional supremacy was under question, political uncertainty persisted and public trust in institutions had weakened. They said investment, growth and prosperity depended on confidence in the rule of law, respect for the democratic mandate and predictable governance.

Call to widen the agenda

The PTI leaders said the country’s crisis was not only economic, but also political and constitutional in nature. In their view, trying to fix economic problems without addressing those underlying issues would not produce a durable solution.

They urged opposition leaders to engage with the prime minister and press for elevating the discussion from a Charter of Economy to a more comprehensive national compact. The proposed Charter of Pakistan, they said, should aim to create agreement among political parties, state institutions and other centres of power on key principles that they listed in the letter.

Those principles included the unconditional supremacy of the Constitution, respect for the electoral mandate and the will of the people, an end to political engineering in all forms, and strict compliance by all institutions with their constitutional roles and limits. They also called for accountability to be applied across the board without discrimination, and for protection of core national policies — including implementation of the National Action Plan and long-term economic frameworks — regardless of which government is in office.

Appeal for inclusive talks

The five leaders said countries that achieved sustained economic progress had first established stable political ground rules. They argued that political stability produced economic stability, and not the reverse.

They said that if the prime minister was serious about national recovery, he should use the moment to begin an inclusive dialogue on a Charter of Pakistan. Such a process, they said, would address the causes of instability rather than only its visible effects.

The letter called on the opposition leadership to jointly invite the prime minister to a serious, transparent and result-oriented discussion on the proposal. The jailed PTI leaders said Pakistan needed a consensus that rose above changes in government and secured constitutional supremacy, democratic continuity and institutional balance for the future, adding that the country required a lasting national covenant rather than another short-term arrangement.