ISLAMABAD - Political heat has touched the boiling point as the top two parties – the Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) – have entered a new phase of confrontation in the run up to the elections.
The PPP and the ruling PML-N, however, believe the conflict would not endanger democracy since all the parties were united against any such threat.
Amid the exchange of allegations and bitter comments, the PPP is all set to launch nationwide protests against the power load-shedding. PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has given the approval to go all out against the government. Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf too has announced to hold anti-government rallies – adding to the tension for the government.
Bilawal claims Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s policies had become a threat to the federation. “Instead of adopting uniformed policies, Nawaz Sharif is trying to appease some specific circles in parts of Punjab. Approval of 97 gas provision projects worth Rs 37 billion in the particular areas amounts to axing the Federation and inciting provinces against each other,” he said in a recent statement. He said that PPP was the chain of the federation and it would not allow Nawaz Sharif and his company to harm the federation just for the sake of winning few seats through his cronies and beneficiaries.
Bilawal’s father, Asif Ali Zardari, is also vocal against the government keeping in view the next general elections which could even be held earlier than schedule. This week Zardari claimed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had lost popularity due to bad governance which, according to him, leaves him out of the next general elections.
Zardari said even if the verdict in Panama leaks scandal by the Supreme Court was not against Nawaz Sharif, he will still be voted out in the elections. The former president also does not see any future for the PTI.
Senior PPP leader Senator Sherry Rehman said the PPP had created and bolstered the democratic tradition and continuity in the system in more ways than one – adding there was no threat to democracy.
“Zardari went as far as setting aside his and the parties’ objections and serious complaints with the way the 2013 election was conducted to put the party’s weight behind institutional continuity for democracy. The party honoured the spirit of the Charter of Democracy in many ways as signed between Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, but the government has seen that as a license to run the country as its own real estate,” she told The Nation.
She said through their constant disregard for parliament and its committees, its workings, as well as the needs of the federation, the PML-N government had created a situation where no opposition party can ignore voicing the critical deficit in the needs of the people.
“Not only have they tried to reverse the 18th Amendment by a deliberate inaction on its institutions, rulings and powers devolved to provinces, they have gone one step further and subverted the spirit of democratic governance of the federation. This has impacted the operations of the federation but also inflamed tensions between the centre and the provinces,” she added.
Senator Rehman said holding back of energy and power rights, the rising astronomical load-shedding has shocked the country into protests and action. “There is no way the PPP can remain silent on these urgent issues, with a 6000 megawatt deficit and no transmission checks. Public suffering has never been so high, and the rising tensions everywhere will of course impact the country,” she said.
The lawmaker said it is up to the government to wake up and take responsibility for the energy crisis as well as the growing wave of social intolerance it has fanned by its inaction on the National Action Plan NAP and not countering violent extremism.
The government, she said, will also be going into a new budget with an unprecedented crisis in public finances created by skyrocketing debt. “It has reached 70 percent of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) impacting inflation and our shocking need to pay back debt with more debt,” she maintained The PPP leader said the failures of the government on every major front including foreign policy were legion, and apparent in the worsening situation all round. “How can the PPP blindly support such criminal misgovernance,” she contended.
PML-N Senator Abdul Qayum said the PPP’s hostile statements against the government were designed to win popular support. “Political parties can only earn mandate through their visible performance. People will only vote for credible parties having realistic doable manifestos. Our political rivals unfortunately have nothing to offer despite ruling important provinces,” he said.
The lawmaker, a former Lt. General, said there was no threat to democracy due to the confrontation as parties do speak out their policies when the elections approach. “The PPP has nothing to sell other than speaking against the government. Zardari and Bilawal are no match to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto. They can’t attract people so they are engaged in a verbal spat,” he remarked.
He said the PPP had failed to bring improvement in Sindh in several years so “how can they handle the country.” Senator Qayum said the PML-N and the PPP had the same views on democracy and will not be part of any move to threaten the system. “This verbal fight is for political purposes. It is not against democracy. The system is stronger than it was in the past,” he affirmed.
The PML-N lawmaker said in his personal opinion, the country needed a presidential system like the United States where the head of the state can choose among the best candidates to run the government rather than banking on the elected representatives.
Analyst Dr Khurram Iqbal said the confrontation among the parties in the election year was nothing extraordinary. “This does not endanger the system but you never know,” he said.
Iqbal said the democratic system had been in the past on lame excuses so the political parties must remain cautious. “They should argue but not fight,” he advised.