Prime Minister Gilani, while addressing members of the Lahore Bar Association on Saturday, reiterated the PPP and government’s recently adopted position, favouring early general elections, adding that the ruling leadership was not afraid of polls. He stressed that the change (in government) should only come through the ballot. Which is precisely what all other political parties have been clamouring for. None support any unconstitutional means that would derail democracy. All those calling for change want to retain the democratic structure of the state and have based their demands on bad governance, the free-for-all corruption the present ruling leadership is accused of indulging in, and, of course, its blatant disregard of law and judicial verdicts. The truth behind the decision to hold early elections is the pressure from rising calls by the opposition parties for seeking a fresh mandate, and of the developing threat from the fast emerging third force in the shape of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI). These developments have compelled the government to go for polls any time after June this year. The idea is to stump the PTI, by taking to the polls, before it becomes a force to contend with.
A sizeable number among the gathering held in Alhamra hall booed and heckled the Prime Minister all through his speech, interrupting him with slogans like “Chief (Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry) terai janisar, beshumar, beshumar” and “Go, Zardari Go”. Mr Gilani appeared to have remained unruffled for some time and even gestured to the hecklers that he was not upset by sloganeering and rowdyism. “We are from the masses and such an atmosphere does not perturb us,” he asserted. However, ultimately, it was quite obvious that he could not stand the booing crowd and had to cut short his address and leave. In his speech, he tried to discount the widespread view that the government disrespected other institutions of the state – a reference to the judiciary – by saying that those who were accusing the rulers of disrespect were labouring under the wrong impression. He insisted that the judiciary as well as the media were independent and this was because of a democratic political dispensation in place. Mr Gilani claimed that the PPP launched the movement for the restoration of the deposed judges and worked for the independence of the media. And while recalling PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s successful effort to have the Constitution passed, he said the present setup respected the Constitution.
The opposition parties are not likely to buy the contention that the PPP-led government was acting in accordance with the Constitution, considering the clear instances of its violation. Perhaps, there would be quite a few dissenters even within the PPP itself.