The PTI has decided to become part of the parliament that was formed after the general elections Imran Khan claimed were farcical- repeatedly for 126 days that none of us will ever get back. News reports suggest that this was due to a push by the financiers of the party. As part of its protest against the government, the PTI had resigned from the National Assembly and two provincial assemblies of Punjab and Sindh. Opposition to the new decision also came from Punjab and Sindh members. This U-turn makes no sense for those who left their seats in protest, but for us looking from the outside, it makes perfect sense. The PTI is out of moves and it may be more comfortable to sit in the parliament than it has been standing on a container.
The decision is not without its problems, as now the party is wracked with infighting. Lawmakers from the Punjab, Sindh and overseas members all want seats in the upper house. KP members are already in government; others should be given a chance. However, KP MPAs insist that only candidates from their province should get tickets since it is they who will be voting in the Senate elections. This is what it sounds like: the party is made up of hungry individuals, and acts like a mob of politicians rather than a unified body strategising for the success of the party as a whole.
It might just be a smart move, since if the National Assembly is ever dissolved, under the Constitution the Senate remains intact. But while saying that they want to become MPA’s, the PTI chairman disparaged the secret ballot system for voting in the Senate elections, saying that his KP lawmakers had been offered Rs30 million each to vote against their party. In the long run, will the PTI still remain above the fray or will they become like the others, taking and giving bribes? It’s not like the membership of the PTI hasn’t played this game before. So many of them are PPP and PMLN defectors. If polls were rigged, wasn’t the senate selection also rigged? If PTI does not want to sit in the National Assembly then why sit in Senate? Does it have any goal or aim it would like to stick to? Something called a manifesto or a party ideology? For what purpose was the country put through 126 days of sheer torture and disruption if they were going to end up in Parliament anyway?