Senior politicians should step aside from PM race: Durrani

Former federal minister and senior politician Muhammad Ali Durrani has proposed that the heads of major political parties should pave a way for the formation of a national unity government by stepping aside from the prime ministerial race. “Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and Imran Khan should not aspire to become prime minister and instead play their role for the formation of national unity government in the country,” Durrani said in an interview. He said the leaders of PML-N, PPP, and PTI should put forth their respective candidates for the position of prime minister. Durrani has initiated the process of political reconciliation in the country amidst corrosive impact of divisive politics that has erected formidable barriers to the progress and uplift of the masses. On Nov 15, the former minister presented the plan for the formation of an elected national unity government in the country after the general elections. He quoted examples from Britain, Ireland, and South Africa where national unity governments were formed while remaining within the parliamentary structures. Read ‘Meesaq-e-Pakistan’ need of the time: Durrani Durrani welcomed former president Zardari’s recent statement endorsing the proposal for a national unity government, saying leaders of other parties should also demonstrate the same mindset. He said the formation of a national unity government after the general elections would reshape the political landscape and governance model in the country where “incompetence and dynastic politics are 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,” he added. Durrani asserted that the establishment of a national unity government by political parties would put an end to the policy of “selection” in the country. To a question, the former minister noted that Zardari had disavowed the practice of dynastic politics in a recent interview. According to him, political parties such as PPP and PML-N cannot sustain the continuation of this practice, Durrani said.