In reply to a query about the grant of tickets to contest the forthcoming general elections, Federal Minister for Water and Power Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said, clearly and without mincing his words, that he was after the Chaudhrys of Gujrat i.e. the leaders of the PML-Q and that he would “make them run away”. He also stated that the party has not advised anyone to refrain from issuing any statements against them. According to a formula of seat adjustments reached between the PPP and the PML-Q, no one, except the last winner of a seat, will be given a ticket. And the last winner from the seat where Chaudhry Shujaat contested was Chaudhry Mukhtar. If these remarks show that all is not smooth sailing in the PPP-PML-Q alliance, Functional League leader Pir Pagaro sees a new set-up waiting in the wings; for the Prime Minister, he says, is there for a few more days and the elections are in jeopardy. Like his father, he is trying to forge a merger of the different factions of the Muslim League.
The approaching general elections and the possible emergence of a third force in the national politics have created an interested scenario. It has brought into sharp focus the internal differences within the PPP-led coalition as well as within the mainstream opposition party, PML-N. To prevent these differences from developing into a split that could damage their election prospects, both the PPP and the PML-N make serious attempts at patch-up, though not always succeeding. For instance, the MQM has, on several occasions, expressed serious reservations about the policies of both the federal and provincial governments in which it is a partner. At times, it felt so put off that it refused to sit on the Treasury Benches, even threatened to quit from the central coalition. Its insistence upon the reintroduction of the Musharraf era local body system in Sindh is the most painful sore rankling with its partner in the provincial government, PPP, and is being bitterly opposed. Though the ANP has not said much on the issue, it would certainly not relish the idea of the system’s return, for obvious reasons. The ANP and the MQM, though partners in ruling coalition, do not see eye to eye with one another on several issues, with the Karachi chaos at the heart of tension between them, as well as among the PPP, the ANP and the MQM. There have been defections from the ranks of the PPP, the most prominent being that of former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and former Education Minister Sardar Assef Ali. Similarly with the PML-N, though to a lesser degree. Sometimes, one hears voices of dissent and now the rift with Khosas threatens to make for a big loss to the party. Already, it had earlier suffered the defection of veteran leader Javed Hashmi.
Under the circumstances, one would wish Pir Pagaro success in his efforts to bring League’s factions on one platform, in one party. The fate of his efforts depends largely on PML-N President Mian Nawaz Sharif who has, unfortunately, so far not shown any flexibility continuing to maintain a selective approach to the envisaged merger. It is time for him to rethink and go along with Pir Pagaro’s idea to put up a solid opposition to the PPP.