EDITORIAL: A multi-party conference (MPC) hosted by PPP Chairman Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari on Sunday proved to be more successful than many political pundits were willing to give it credit for. Attended by almost all opposition parties, big and small, the conference decided to form a new alliance, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), for the launch of an action plan for the ouster of the PTI government. The highlight of the event though was an hour-long speech that a very healthy looking PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif gave from London via a video link. Though he found fault with the policies of the present government, some of it quite valid, the main thrust of his speech was extra-constitutional interventions. Said he, "either we have martial laws in the country or a strong parallel government is created whenever we have a civilian government. Our foremost priority is to get rid of this non-representative, incapable and selected government. And more important for us is to get rid of this system." Indeed, the first part of these assertions is a statement of facts. But the sad reality is also that this has been going on with the active collusion of politicians. Two things need to happen to "get rid of this system". One, the politicians stop liaising with the establishment for their short-term gains. And the other, is that when in power they should govern only in public interest giving no excuse to non-political entities to make direct or indirect interventions.
The MPC has set itself an ambitious agenda, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan. A 26-point declaration read out by JUI-F chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman - the most fervent campaigner for the PTI government's ouster - contained various other demands, including "end of establishment's interferences in politics, new free and fair elections after formulation of election reforms with no role of armed forces and intelligence agencies, release of political prisoners, withdrawal of cases against journalists, implementation of the National Action Plan [formulated during the PML-N rule] against terrorism, speeding up of the projects under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and across-the-board accountability under a new accountability law." Few can quarrel with any of these points, especially the one at the top, which should serve as a reminder to those concerned that it is time to retreat from rather than advancing into the civilian domain. As for the demand for the PM's resignation the MPC announced a three-phased plan starting from the next month with countrywide protest demonstrations and rallies, and a "decisive long march" to Islamabad come January.
The opposition parties, of course, are within their rights to launch an agitation movement. It will keep the government on its toes and may also force the "parallel system" to give ground to the democratic project. But the government is not going to fall, and call early elections. In fact, that is not in the interest of the opposition parties, either. This country's chequered political history shows that anti-government movements succeed only when backed by forces the opposition claims to be up against, resulting in military rule as lamented by Nawaz Sharif. The MPC also said the constitutional options of a no-confidence move and resigning from the assemblies were also on the table to be used at "the right time". They are unlikely to exercise these options, though. Not long ago, a no- confidence move against the incumbent Senate Chairman failed badly. As regard the other alternative, the two major parties, the PML-N and PPP, have a lot at stake. The former is the main opposition party in the National Assembly as well as the Punjab Assembly, whilst the latter rules in Sindh. Neither will want to lose its position. In any event, the unity the opposition parties have forged needs to be seen as a positive development. A united and strong opposition will lend strength to the democratic system.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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