ISLAMABAD - Like the visible division of opposition on the issue of long march against PM Gilani, resolution for the support of Southern Punjab province and controversy of Prime Minister’s entrance in Parliament, now opposition parties, including PML-N and JUI-F, will also not on the same page to strongly oppose PPP’s 5th upcoming budget 2012-13.
Repeating the same sole party show in and outside the Parliament against the PPP’s government, the larger opposition party Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) is seemingly not in a mood to seek support of other parliamentary opposition parties in its ongoing political moves. These manners most probably will lead to further division of opposition in the Parliament on different political decisions, opposition party members shared with TheNation.
Pakistan Muslim League (N) may not able to get support of other parliamentary opposition parties to oppose the upcoming budgetary allocations in different fields. In this ongoing rising political temperature when gossips are rife that Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) might play a role to cool down both PPP and PML-N, the junior opposition party has almost decided to distance itself from future drastic moves of at least PML-N.
When contacted, JUI-F senior leader/ former leader of opposition in Senate Maulana Ghafor Haideri said when the larger opposition party was not taking them into confidence in any of strategy then ‘united opposition is mere a hallow slogan’.
“It is not necessary to support PML-N in any move including upcoming budget’s matter. We are in opposition but we have our own identity and ideology,” JUI-F leader said. Expressing a bit resentment, he added that it was JUI-F which arranged meeting of opposition parties as after parting ways with the government they kept in wait of PML-N’s welcome for its joining as opposition party. It was JUI-F that arranged a former meeting of parliamentary opposition parties but now unity is not at all the issue, he added.
It would not be out of place to mention here that Pakistan Muslim League (N) chief, Nawaz Sharif has recently clearly warned the incumbent government to mend it ways otherwise his party could launch a long march 10 times to save the country from corruption and other evil. Other parliamentary opposition parties have not given its nod in this matter.
The major cracks developed between PML-N and JUI-F when the latter did not support the larger opposition party, which created rumpus for five consecutive days in the National Assembly proceedings. The parliamentary opposition parties had seen on same page only during the Presidential address (18th March, 2012) when the JUI-F also boycotted the Zardari’s address with Pakistan Muslim League (N).
This rare unity of opposition parties has also forced Leaders of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Chaudry Nisar Ali Khan to announce that all the Opposition parties would evolve a joint strategy in the future.  Commenting on this uncommon unity, JUI-F leader Ghafor Haideri said that his party was ready to work together but ‘big party’ (PML-N) hardly considers taking other opposition parties into confidence about any strategy.