By Mian Abrar
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has advised Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led opposition alliance of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to first focus on bringing an in-house change in Punjab and then center.
Sources within the PPP and the PDM have confirmed Pakistan Today that PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has assured Maulana Fazl all necessary support if the PDM shifts focus on bringing in-house chnages in Punjab and center rather than going for Long March which should be used as a last option.The sources said that Bilawal’s proposal also has the blessings of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif who also believes that in-house change would be a natural political maneuver and it would deprive Prime Minister Imran Khan to play victim-hood in case of political destabilisation through a long march.
Punjab likely to be first battleground
The sources said that in case the opposition parties agree on an in-house change for which according to them they have got required numbers, it would be a swift kill for the opposition to oust Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.The sources said that Bilawal has assured the PDM leader that if the opposition alliance agrees, his party not only can support the PML-N candidate as Punjab Chief Minister, he can also provide the numbers from the government allies.Meanwhile, the source said that the PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif and PDM leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Saturday held a telephonic conversation to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country.During the telephone call, both leaders agreed to mount more pressure on the government inside and outside Parliament, the sources said.
Expressing their satisfaction over unity among the Opposition parties, the two leaders have decided to give the government a tough time.
“Giving the PTI-led government more time would be tantamount to injustice with the people and the country,” Fazlur Rehman was quoted.
The two leaders agreed to move the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s protest plan forward and discussed the Opposition’s long march towards Islamabad. Talking about the long march, Nawaz Sharif assured Fazlur Rehman that his party will support the PDM’s decision.
Govt allies showing true colours as hard times arrive
With the changing scenario, the government’s two major allied, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and Mutahidda Qoumi Movement (MQM) are gearing up to jump the ship anytime.Leaders of both PTI allies – PML-Q and MQM-P – have expressed their concerns to media over the new legislation proposed by the ruling party and complained of being kept in the dark over important decisions.The differences among the coalition partners emerged when the government postponed the joint sitting of the Parliament due to a lack of consensus over the bills to be placed for passage.PML-Q leader Pervez Elahi Saturday indicated to go against the ruling PTI government over mistreatment of its workers in Punjab and for not being included in the decision-making process.“We have been supporting them [the government] in the Centre and Punjab for the past three years but the provincial government is mistreating our workers in every district,” PML-Q leader and Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said while chairing a meeting of the party’s central committee in Lahore.Elahi announced convening a PML-Q Parliamentary Party meeting on Sunday (today) in which a unanimous decision will be taken on the future course of action, saying that the ruling party was not offering them any opportunity to participate in the decision-making process despite being an ally.The party leaders also pointed out that despite being an ally, the Punjab government only met the assembly speaker during the budget session or whenever it needed support. “We all have serious reservations over the attitude of the provincial government.”
PML-Q Senator Kamil Ali Agha also underscored that the Senate election was enough to remind the government of the PML-Q role in winning it. “Did the government forget how it won the Senate election without asking for votes? The rulers also forgot that none of their candidates came to ask for votes, yet in the most difficult election of the Senate, the PML-Q helped them pull through.”
While responding to the warning of the PML-Q leadership, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said that the government would improve its working relationship with the PML-Q by taking ahead the consultation process. “We were and will remain allies.”
Buzdar underlined that the PML-Q “is our ally and decisions have always been taken in Punjab with consultation”.
The government always took allied parties along with it in Punjab and the practice would continue in the future as well, he said, assuring that the journey of public service would be carried out along with the PML-Q with best working coordination.
Before his departure to Saudi Arabia, Buzdar clarified that he visited the residence of Punjab Assembly speaker. He said that the government never adopted a solo policy in Punjab and always gave due importance to the suggestion of the elected representative of the coalition party.
“The government will continue to work together with its allies to provide relief to the people of the province.”
He said, “The nefarious designs of those who want to create a rift among us will be foiled.
“The conspirators will fail and our alliance will move forward as no conspiracy of creating misunderstandings between us will succeed.”
Sharing his reservations on the current political situation, MQM-Pakistan chief Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said his party had conveyed the problems of the masses several times to the PTI government.
He revealed that the party was not briefed on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), adding that “we got to know about it through the media.”
“We had some important questions related to it but we never got the answers. So we told them that we have a lot of questions and as it turned out, other coalition partners were also not taken into confidence,” he added.
Siddiqui said one of the questions that his party has about the EVMs is that how will the machines guarantee transparent elections. He said the MQM had also asked the government to test the machines through a process.
“We asked the government to seek the Engineering Council’s opinion on it,” he revealed. “We also asked it to test it in an election [before using it].”
Siddiqui said that MQM-Pakistan had been told that those who will handle the machines will not manipulate the results. “We were given the guarantee that this will not happen, but how it will not happen, that we haven’t been told,” he said.
He said the party was also curious as to how the government will manufacture so many EVMs when it did not have the time to do so.
Siddiqui said that if the government did not take serious decisions then coalition partners will continue to remain anxious. “Despite three years passing, we haven’t seen the effects of change,” he said.However, Siddiqui said his party does not doubt the prime minister’s intentions. He said the party expected the prime minister to demonstrate seriousness in his decisions.
He said the economic indicators were pointing out that no serious or concrete action over the past couple of years had been taken by the government.
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