ISLAMABAD  -  Mian Muhammad Rauf Atta, President Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan (SCBAP) on Monday has called for political reconciliation and said that we can reap the fruit of economic stability through sowing the seed political unity.

In a statement issued in connection with tragedy of December 16 in Pakistan’s national history, the President SCBAP said, “Today marks the anniversary of two agonizing and heart-wrenching tragedies in our nation’s history. On this day in 1971, we suffered the wound of East Pakistan (Fall of Dhaka), and yet again on this very date in 2014, we endured the trauma of the APS massacre, where hundreds of our innocent children and staff members of Army Public School were martyred by terrorists in Peshawar”.

He said on behalf of the entire legal fraternity and the 27th Cabinet of SCBAP, I would like to pay tribute to the fallen heroes of 1971 for their valor and bravery, and to the innocent martyrs of 2014 for their resilience and priceless sacrifice against the menace of terrorism.

Both 1971 and 2014 remain painful events in our national tale. The former reminds us of the need for political introspection, and the latter reminds us of the extreme sacrifices we made in the war against terrorism.

Albeit we, as a nation, take pride in overcoming the ordeals of 1971 and 2014, it goes without saying that the price we paid on both occasions was hefty and irrecoverable.

If we wish to contemplate, both of the aforesaid tragedies teach us the same lesson: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” We need to foresee that our enemies want us to be politically, socially, and economically unstable and polarized. They do not want us to prosper, progress, or live in peace and harmony. We must not give them such an opportunity by creating political havoc, as is happening nowadays.

In this regard, we want to assert that had the findings of the Hamoodur Rehman Commission Report been implemented in true spirit, we as a nation would have been in an even better position today. However, it is never too late, and we reiterate the need to implement the recommendations of the said report.

The SCBAP asserts that the need of the hour demands a National Political Reconciliation Plan as much as it demands the implementation of the National Action Plan in its true letter and spirit. We are of the view that by sowing the seeds of political unity, we shall reap the fruits of economic stability and security.

Let no one be mistaken: those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.  The forum of the SCBAP is open for all stakeholders so as to move towards much needed national political consensus.