Political dialogue
A broken dialogue has just begun with the AL. The party is not necessarily united, one can feel from the media reports that the attitude of the government is not serious enough to achieve any positive results from the dialogue. The broken BNP(s) will eventually come to their rescue as its basic policy does not differ from the politics of the present government. The Jammat is their safety net.
People are totally engaged in a battle for survival. Politics has become a secondary issue-- a plus point for this government to manipulate the situation in their favour. That is what they are doing in the name of dialogue which is destined to fail. The dialogue might offer an opportunity to postpone the election, rather than facilitating the process. It might produce a model for guided democracy . The mission will then be fulfilled.
A simple "carrot and stick" policy has been adopted by the government taking full advantage of disunity among the political parties. The news of the release of two leaders in jail is nothing but a " carrot" to ensure participation of the two major political parties. There is no way they are going to be released.
Are we going to be a liberal democratic state ? The NWDP is perhaps facing its natural death. A big question will always remain unanswered: why the government initiated the drama with the NWDP, despite knowing the implications of it ?
There is every reason to be concerned about the premature death of the NWDP. One can apprehend that the progress made for empowerment of women since the early 1980's is going to be challenged by the Islamic fundamentalists.
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