K-P government shuffle: Coalition breakup does not come as a surprise

The Express Tribune

The breakup within the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) coalition government does not come as a surprise for many – the boycott of assembly sessions by the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), the absence of its members from select committees and inept silence on core issues were indications of ‘all’s not well’. However, the provincial president of the QWP and Senior Minister Sikander Sherpao says he did not expect the decision to be taken so abruptly by the PTI. “It came as surprise,” he told The Express Tribune, with a deep breath followed by a laughter “I feel … relieved now, it was never workable since the very start,” he adds. The genesis of the relation between the QWP and PTI is not just between two political parties but a relation carved out by two politically conniving minds – Pervez Khattak and Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao. Almost two decades ago, in 1994, governor’s rule was imposed upon K-P assembly (NWFP then) after toppling the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz’s (PML-N) government. There were two key players, Khattak and Sherpao senior. Sherpao senior took over as the chief minister amidst ‘horse trading’ later that year. Then government held its own special place in the province’s history with an overwhelming number of ministers. Wednesday’s decision brought back some memories of the time as the characters remained the same while their assigned roles reversed, with Pervaiz Khattak being the chief minister of the province, Aftab Sherpao’s son, a senior minister from the newly baptised in nationalism – QWP (Peoples Party Pakistan – Sherpao) and PML-N in the opposition. Sikandar Sherpao says that the PTI was skeptic of his parties’ relations with the PML-N in the centre. However, the charges are that of corruption. “I have signed letters of Imran Khan asking for favours,” he says, when reminded the reason of why two of his ministers were removed, hinting at another period of an endless blame game of corruption charges, while the province is to set up its own Accountability Commission soon. Changes within the government hint at the possibility of more changes ahead. A senior leader of the PML-N from K-P claims that one of the requests made in a recent meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by President Karzai was to appoint Aftab Sherpao as the governor of K-P. A source privy to a meeting between provincial leadership of the PTI and JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that both the parties had warmed up to each other recently. The same are claims that echo from the quarters of the Pakistan Peoples Party, whose joining the K-P government was certain had there been no resistance from its central leadership. Looking at the strength of the government which now consists of the PTI, JI, Awami Jamhori Ittehad and a number of independents it is less likely that the government feels the pain of parting its ways with the QWP. While political players watch their cards keenly to make their next move – the local government elections – the province itself is faced with a number of problems, the first and foremost being terrorism. While consensus needs to be developed amongst political parties, questions still remain such as: was this a wise decision at such a time? Only time will tell.