Daily Times

At a presser held after the Central Executive Committee (CEC) Meeting of the party held on February 13, the Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto categorically stated that his party would extend full support to PML-N in forming the government at the Centre. In the same breath, Bilawal also categorically stated that his party would not join the cabinet.

On the contrary, PPP co-chairman and former President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, speaking at a presser held at the residence of the PML-Q President, Chaudhry Shujat Hussain, on February 13, which was attended by PML-N President Mian Shehbaz Sharif, member of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and incumbent Chairman Senate of Pakistan Sadiq Sanjrani, MQM-P Convener/leader Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Istehqam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) leader Abdul Aleem Khan, cogently said, “We have decided today that we will get together and form the government to lift Pakistan from difficulty.” The conspicuous absence of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who has always been a part of the past alliances, including the last Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government, was visibly felt. None of the leaders present at the presser could cogently respond to the media’s query about Maulana’s absence at the presser.

Though vague, one has to admit that the stance of Co-chairman PPP Asif Ali Zardari is a little different from the party’s chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. While Bilawal Bhutto has been utterly blunt in venting his views on the issue of PPP’s role in the coalition government in the making, Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has been comparatively subtle and diplomatic. This compels one to conclude that both are on the same page. When co-chairman of PPP, Asif Ali Zardari makes a vague statement, “We have decided today that ‘we will get together’ and form the government to lift Pakistan from difficulty,” it is evident that he, like party chairman Bilawal Bhutto, clearly means that PPP will support PML-N in the formation of the government but will not be a part of the cabinet of the said government, and will sit in the opposition.

Should this move of the Chairman PPP, Bilawal Bhutto and Co-chairman Asif Zardari be termed as smart? Yes, it should. By making this smart move, the People’s Party has played it safe. It has astutely manoeuvred the situation in its favour. But such moves are contrary to what the country badly needs today. It is known to all and sundry that Pakistan is passing through the most critical period in its seven decades and a half old history. What the country direly needs today is political stability, to be able to steer itself out of its gargantuan socioeconomic and political predicaments. Unambiguously, this profoundly vital need cannot be fulfilled unless all the stakeholders in the political arena rise above themselves, keep the interest of the country foremost in their agendas, and join forces to collectively address particularly the country’s critical economic situation. And, do so to put it on the path to progress and prosperity.

While Bilawal Bhutto has been utterly blunt in venting his views on the issue of PPP’s role in the coalition government in the making, Asif Ali Zardari has been comparatively subtle and diplomatic.

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto appreciates that the country is confronting an unparalleled crisis, and also asserts his party’s principal decision to take Pakistan out of the current crisis, but at the same time, he is not prepared to take equal responsibility and be an integral part of the cabinet of the coalition government. He says his party will sit in the opposition and will support the government on the issue-to-issue basis. Isn’t all this a little too confusing? How can one sit in the opposition and at the same time outrightly support the policies and plans of the government in the saddle? This is something beyond one’s stretch of imagination to understand.

Bilawal Bhutto says he wants to see his father as the president of Pakistan. Why not? Co-chairman PPP Asif Ali Zardari has been the President of Pakistan, once before. During his 5-year stint as the president, he outstandingly represented Pakistan at the highest level at all international forums. One doesn’t see any reason why he cannot or should not be elected as the president of the country, once again. Bilawal is also aspiring to see his party’s candidates at the helm in the Senate and National Assembly of Pakistan. Needless to say, to be able to attain this objective his party will have to seek the support of PML-N and the other coalition partners. No one should have any objections to Bilawal’s aspirations. But one certainly has the right to ask, what is it that is holding PPP from being an active part of the coalition government? Why doesn’t the PPP want to be a part of the cabinet and share equal responsibility for managing the affairs of the coalition government? These and many other such concerns continue to boggle the minds of the people. All these concerns and doubts should be addressed to the satisfaction of the people.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman who was conspicuous by his absence at the presser held at the residence of the president of PML-Q Chaudhry Shujat Hussain on February 13, finally broke his silence on February 14. At a presser held in Islamabad on February 14, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman rejected the results of the February 8 elections and asked his workers to be ready for peaceful protests across the country. Clarifying his party’s stance, JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said “We are not aligned with any political party, including PML-N.” He further said, “We will not endorse Shehbaz Sharif as the prime ministerial candidate in the parliament, as our party has prohibited him from forming the government.” In view of the foregoing, we will not be a part of any government, he asserted. The JUI-F chief extended an invitation to the PML-N Supremo Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to sit with him on the opposition benches in the parliament.

What does the prevailing scenario in the political arena of the country reflect? For sure, it doesn’t, in any manner, reflect optimism. It speaks volumes of the chaos and anarchy that is going to confront the country in the days and months to come. This thought sends shivers down the spine of the people. It seems the political forces have become oblivious to the gigantic economic predicaments that confront the country today. It seems they have not learnt a lesson from the past. One expected, they would rise above self and party interest, hold the country’s interest paramount, and work in unison to steer the country out of its present economic crisis. All this now seems to be a far cry. How very sad, after having spent billions of taxpayers’ money (over Rs.17 billion as reported in the media) on the recently held national elections, we are back to square one.

The brewing political crisis cannot be repeated and cannot be amicably resolved by the political forces themselves. History bears testimony to the fact, that they have not been able to do so in the past, they would not be able to do it now. One is compelled by circumstances to say that the time has come for those who possess the capacity to exercise their influence on the political forces of the country, to act briskly and bring them together on one platform in the larger interest of this country. If this is not done, one sees burgeoning political instability and chaos in the country. And, under no circumstances, can Pakistan’s brutally battered economy bear such a gut-wrenching situation.

The writer is a columnist and analyst based in Islamabad.