Daily Times

Another day and another conundrum for Usman Buzdar, Punjab’s Chief Minister. If not for speculations erupting within his party ranks about his status, he is under fire as a part of the so-called establishment’s mega plan to bring change in Punjab. As PM Imran Khan continues to find grounds to maintain the Rajanpur Sardar, the poor man spends most days fighting the target on his back.

On Saturday, PML-N had blasted away at Zardari’s under-the-table manipulation. Had there remained any hope for even a faint vestige of the grand alliance, the PPP could have rebuffed extending any such offer in the clearest of words. But notorious for his political stunts, Mr Zardari is taking the current events as an excellent opportunity to unravel his Machiavellian talent. Spilling out to his homeboys that he had finally secured an in with the establishment has been the unkindest cut of all. Now, his top brass is busy defending their plans for going forward with a no-confidence motion. From PPP’s Punjab General Secretary to prominent senator, Sherry Rehman, everyone is now pointing guns at PML-N for preferring to retain the Buzdar government. Though a minor player in Punjab, the PPP is counting on support from parties like the PML-N and PML-Q. While it only has seven members in the house, a joint resolution (by denting the treasury coalition) would have the required teeth to show Buzdar the door. However, the much-touted plan to install the Chaudhrys of Gujrat on the Lahore throne is not likely to sit well with the PML-N. Only time will tell whether Noonians would muster enough might to impress the behind-the-scenes custodians. Yet, the ongoing war of words would only get uglier in the coming days. No qualms about that!

Already, Jiyalas are castigating Maryam for “washing PDM’s dirty line in public.” There has been a great tumult over the “regrettable” use of the word “selected” to describe PPP’s rise to power. Mariyam, in turn, should have been more mindful of her tone in her press conference. Surely, she cannot be naive enough to forget what had gone down in Punjab in the 80s. The outright manner in which PML-N was used to usurp the Bhutto legacy in Punjab during the dictatorship of General Zia is deeply-embedded in the annals of history. No matter how sweet the bonhomie may have seemed between arch-rivals, the brief stint has, surely, run its miserable course. Sindhi nationalism now appears determined to lead the Punjabi lions out of politics altogether. The ball is in Sharifs’ court. Whether they are ready to burn all boats for survival or will continue sitting like lame ducks would spell the new chapter in Pakistani politics!

It is quite unfortunate that all quarters have decided to spring to action at a time when the entire world is buckling under the merciless third wave of coronavirus. When Pakistan needed a coherent fighting strategy for some miraculous way out of the pandemic, our single-point agenda seems to be pulling the chair back for our own gains. Quite sad, but nothing out-of-the-ordinary for a class of politicians obsessed with power games! *