Reconciliation Is No Silver Bullet

Two years ago – February 2008 – Pakistan began its transformation to democracy with a general election that brought Benazir Bhutto’s PPP (Pakistan People’s Party) into power. The party decided to continue its policy, introduced by its slain leader Ms. Bhutto, of reconciliation with all political players. It formed a coalition government with its rival and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz) in Punjab province, ANP (Awami National Party) in NWFP province, and MQM (Muttahida Quami Movement) in Sindh province. PPP also decided to share power with those parties in the center and the idea was to create a powerful democratic government alliance that can address all the challenges faced by the country after a decade long dictatorship.