Analysis: Can newfound flexibility help bridge govt-PTI gulf?

After days of pitched battles outside Imran Khan's Zaman Park residence in Lahore, both the government and the PTI appear to be softening their extreme positions and showing willingness to enter into dialogue.

However, a lack of trust between the two sides seems evident; there is by now almost too big a gulf to bridge in the near future.

Background interviews with leaders from the ruling coalition and the opposition PTI reveal that though there is some realisation on both sides that the country cannot afford the prevailing tensions to linger, each side is expecting the other to take the first step towards reconciliation, blaming each other's past track records for their distrust.

Talking to Dawn after his party chief expressed willingness to 'talk to anyone' and 'render any sacrifice' for the sake of the country's 'uplift, interest and democracy', senior PTI leader Shibli Faraz termed Mr Khan's tweet the result of a 'change' in the party policy, stating that the present stalemate had paralysed the country which was not moving forward and was in 'freefall'.

Mr Khan's tweet came a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had emphasised that all political forces would have to sit for dialogue to rid the country of the ongoing political and economic crises.

Expressing his concern over the grim state of affairs in the country, President Arif Alvi has already, on a number of occasions offered his services for mediation to cool down political temperatures in the country.

'We are in a very grim and chaotic situation. The onus is now on the government, and on those who have guns and sitting in power, whether they have acquired it legally or illegally, this is another debate,' said Mr Faraz, adding: 'It is not only the responsibility of the government [to respond positively], it is incumbent upon it in view of the country's political, economic and social situation.'

Realising the gravity of the crisis, the PTI senator said they had seen civil wars and the fragmentation of other countries in the past.

He also regretted that everything had become 'Imran-centric' in the country. 'Be it media, be it courts or the whole state machinery', he said, all are focused only on Imran Khan, instead of paying attention to the other major public issues, like devaluation of currency, inflation and unemployment.

Responding to a question, Mr Faraz said the government needed to take some concrete confidence building measures (CBMs) to show its sincerity. The biggest CBM...