Political Dialogue, Reconciliation Efforts of Gov’t Laudable: Pakistani Ambassador

The political dialogue and reconciliation efforts of the Government of Ethiopia are laudable, Pakistani Ambassador Shazab Abbas said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, the Pakistani ambassador to Ethiopia appreciated the political dialogue and reconciliation efforts of the government.

“First, the government has already announced release of prisoners, which is a big initiative. The second is launching of the (national) dialogue, a very important initiative; and the third one  investigation conducted jointly by the (Ethiopian Human Rights) commission and Office of the UN High Commissioner to Human Rights,” he elaborated.

Abbas stressed that all these steps and agreements are vital to strengthening democracy, establishing rule of law, and ensuring the rights of citizens of the country.

“I believe that all these steps the government has recently announced would help Ethiopia  consolidate its democracy and establish an environment where people of different voices can speak. That would be a source of strengthening this country,” he added.

The ambassador further pointed out that he  has “no doubt that the efforts of the government will bring positive results to consolidate the integrity of this very important country of Horn of Africa. Not only in the Horn of Africa, but it will also have trickle down effect in neighboring regions which are badly embroiled in different kinds of internal strife.”

According to Abbas, Ethiopia’s neighboring countries look up to Ethiopia and what Ethiopians are doing; subsequently trying to imitate some pattern. So it will be very essential for building a new culture of democratic norms in this region.

Furthermore, he stated that all internal differences within the regions of this great country should be solved through internal dialogue and mutual consultation without external pressures.

It is to be noted that Ethiopia is in the process of holding a historic inclusive national dialogue to establish the groundwork for the future of the country to reach consensus and effectively heal wounds endured to date.

To achieve this, the country has recently established a National Dialogue Commission with a view to bringing national consensus, sustainable peace, and reconciliation in the country through an inclusive dialogue.

The commission is expected to facilitate an inclusive dialogue to national consensus on key issues and ensure peace.

Source: Ethiopia News Agency