PPP stalwart Firdous Ashiq Awan is not happy with how party politics has shaped up with the PPP supporting the PMLN in its embarrassing crises. She would like to see Nawaz go. Would this have anything to do with NAB opening a corruption case against her? Maybe. But she’s not alone. The PPP is afraid of losing its seats in Punjab to PTI, when once it was sitting pretty in the hope that it would be the right wing PMLN vote that PTI would cut into. Imran’s performance in his tour of the country has shaken them up. From Bilawal apologising to party members for unknown grievances to the current splitting of the PPP over Zardari’s helping hand to the PM. The corruption trail goes on to MPA Zulfiqar Gondal, who was arrested last month for a case regarding irregularities in the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution. His brother former Federal Minister Nazar Gondal and National Assembly public accounts committee chairman Nadeem Afzal Chan are reportedly threatening to quit the PPP, angry with Rehman Malik initiating an inquiry against Zafar Gondal.
Its all seems quite seedy, and every dissenting politician has a similar story behind them. But the PPP would rather have skeletons in the PMLN closet shaken out than its own. There is also trouble in the KPK wing of the PPP, and they are considering not holding intra-party elections as the PTI has announced local government elections. Party leaders are in a flurry to sort out internal gripes but workers are annoyed at alleged corruption in the higher ranks.
Is Zardari on the right track? Are his gestures towards unity and peace with the PMLN for the sake of the strength of Pakistan at all genuine? Why would he risk party support for this? Why is he not chanting the highly creative and original PTI slogan “Go Nawaz Go” before his party workers say “Go Zardari Go”? He is the first PPP leader in 32 years to visit the JI chief at Mansoora Lahore. But the two parties are far apart ideologically. Can photo-ops scare PTI and PAT back into a stupor? One must remember that it was very likely that Imran Khan and Tahir ul Qadri might still have been holding Islamabad hostage had this been the PPP in power. Imran has wanted the microphone for years, and now he has it. Qadri tried this during the last government term, and this is round two for him. It doesn’t matter to these two if the PPP is in power or the PMLN, which oddly enough, makes them natural allies. In these strange marriages between PAT and PTI and now JI with PPP, do any of these parties have credibility left? Everyone needs to go.