ISLAMABAD - The political fight between the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will only get dirty in the coming days as the PPP fights for revival after the 2013 election loss.
The PPP chief, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, has been addressing rallies in various areas of the country and is scheduled to hold a public meeting in Attock on August 26th. His language has been quite harsh towards the PML-N and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Asif Ali Zardari too is not showing any flexibility despite being famous for his policies of reconciliation.
A close aide of the Bhutto family told The Nation that the verbal attacks could get dirty to appease the public.
“The father and the son have agreed that soft tone will not be helpful in achieving the goals (especially the PPP’s revival in Punjab),” he said.
The PPP leader said that Bilawal had been given a license by his father to take on the PML-N and the PTI. “The reactions will heat up the political temperature,” he added.
The close aide of the PPP leadership also referred to the recent anti-PPP statements by some PML-N ministers. “This is in fact what the PPP wants. They will further provoke them to create an environment that suits the PPP before the general elections,” he maintained.
In Islamabad, PPP’s opposition leader in the National Assembly Khurshid Shah said the Supreme Court could ask the military to arrest former premier Nawaz Sharif, if he continued to defy the judicial orders.
Speaking to journalists here, Shah said the court had the right to exercise Article 190 over non-compliance and could ask the military to arrest Nawaz Sharif and his family members.
“Nawaz Sharif and his family members are not appearing before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). This is a dangerous game,” the PPP leader said.
He said that if the court exercised Article 190, it could have dangerous consequences. “The law should be equal for all. The government is moving towards confrontation with the state institutions. This will not benefit anyone,” Shah warned.
He downplayed former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s presser where he spoke about differences with the party leadership. “Had he held this news conference outside the Punjab House, it would have been interesting and of a greater value,” he explained.
PPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman regretted that the government had no intention of giving relief or paying attention to the real issues of the people of Pakistan, including load-shedding, water security or the entitlement to food.
“This government has clearly other priorities as it has failed to keep the promises it made in 2013,” she added.
The senator said that it was shocking that no funds had so far been released for the all-important “Energy for all” and “Clean drinking water for all” initiatives.
“Instead of working towards securing energy and food and water projects, the government has disbursed all the funds earmarked for parliamentarians’ development schemes. Its priorities are clearly another kind of politics from the kind we need or believe in. It is indeed tragic that we left a wheat secure country in 2013, and that too has been allowed to slide,” she contended.
“It is shocking and shameful that this government after four years of full powers, does not have a consistent and coherent food, water or energy security policy framework, nor does it seem to be bothered by our nation’s slide into mass poverty. If we see the performance of this government since the last four years, it has done little or nothing to invest in development projects, which directly benefit the poor and the vulnerable.”
Meanwhile, on Monday, PPP leader Malik Hakmeen Khan said the public gathering of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Fateh Jang scheduled for August 26 would be historic.
Speaking to journalists here, he said the people who deserted the PPP would regret their mistake. “The huge public rallies of the PPP are a proof that the PPP will win the next elections and form the government,” Khan said.
He said that the workers of the party had been rejuvenated under Bilawal and Zardari. “The people who used to run vilification campaign against Asif Ali Zardari are being booted out of their offices by the apex court on corruption charges,” Khan remarked.
He said that Punjab was the fort of the party in the past and would once again vote for the PPP. “Asif Ali Zardari displayed immense tolerance and his achievements as President of Pakistan are numerous. He restored the 1973 Constitution, made provinces powerful and envisioned Pakistan-China Economic Corridor. The PPP is the only political force that binds the federation,” Khan added.