Interestingly, some Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders, among others, have been urging the prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar-led interim setup or government to ensure general elections on time.
Making this demand barely a couple of days after the swearing-in of a caretaker prime minister, gives credence to widely-held perception that the caretaker setup will surely stay beyond its 90-day constitutionally-mandated tenure.
It seems the Sharifs did not take PPP co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari, into confidence on the selection of Kakar. In other words, he had not acquiesced to the Sharifs’ or the establishment’s decision with regard to Kakar as the head of the caretaker government.
More importantly, the Speaker of National Assembly, Raja Pervez Ashraf, who belongs to the PPP, has made it clear that elections are not going to take place within 90 days.
What more? PPP, unlike PML-N, stands to lose a lot in the event of delayed elections.
Delayed elections will only dampen the PPP’s electoral prospects. However, it is interesting to note that prime minister Kakar is yet to express his government’s resolve that elections will be held in a timely and transparent manner.
Hammad Khan Achakzai (Quetta)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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