Pakistan: Futile infighting over caretaker PM

The big two political parties-ruling Pakistan People’s Party and main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-failing to perform well in five years of their term in their respective roles-are sticking to their guns, giving no chance to sanity to prevail. Despite hectic negotiations and backchannel go-between, the both parties stand apart on their proposed nominees. The encouraging sign is that the two parties are considering more names for the post to break the political stalemate before the matter goes to joint parliamentary committee. The Opposition claims to have proposed the two names after consultations with 13 opposition parties while the PPP is persuading the opposition to accept Dr Ishrat Husain, a former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan for the caretaker prime minister. Though media reports suggest after the two sides rejected each other’s nominees, the names of Senators Raza Rabbani, Ishaq Dar, Afrasyab Khattak, chief of Pakistan Pakhtunkhawa Milli Awami Party Mehmood Khan Achakzai and human rights activist Asma Jehangir are under consideration, however, the opposition is not willing to change its nominations. The time, though, is running out for intermediaries that are still working hard to create consensus over one name from the six names proposed by the Prime Minister and the leader of the Opposition before the matter goes to joint parliamentary committee under the Article 224-A of the Constitution. The opposition says Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid and Awami Tehrik founder Rasul Bakhsh Palijo are the final two names while the PPP is putting its weight behind Dr Ishrat Husain. Thus the stalemate is continuing. Even the formation of joint parliamentary committee has also hit the snags. The Government has proposed four names for constituting the committee while PML-N is tight-lipped on names of the four representatives in the parliamentary committee. In fact, it looks reluctant to accommodate MQM, of late, joining on the opposition benches. Coming back to existing nominations, PML-N has opposed Dr Ishrat Hussain saying he has served the Musharraf regime while the PPP disagreed with Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid because he implicated President Zardari in a false murder case of his brother-in-law and Rasul Bakhsh Palijo is not acceptable to the PPP because his son has made an alliance against the PPP in Sindh. Alas! Today the opposition is fighting tooth and nail to out-maneuver the Government’s nominees but it never put any furious and steadfast resistance when the national exchequer, institutions like PIA, Railways and Pakistan Steel Mills were going down the drains, economy was trampled, prices of petroleum products, CNG & LPG were doctored to personal gains, price and inflation were skyrocketing and energy crisis kept the nation in dark for five years. Rather Opposition’s criminal silence was given the name of political tolerance. Now when the Opposition feels their turn to power corridors can be impeded it has taken a firm stand. Similarly the rulers, badly failed to serve the masses and have nothing on their credit to win hearts of the nation, are hell bent to bring in the people of their choice to extract some mileage to their benefit in forthcoming elections. Amidst continued violence and suicide bombing, Islamabad is locked in political battle between the two big political parties that are ignoring the wellbeing of the state and the people living in here. Political parties are still living under the illusion they can hoodwink the innocent masses; simply elevation of their choice is an essential requisite that can ensure their victories in the next election. Indeed, they are grossly mistaken-impartial posture taken by Pakistan Army and upright backing of supreme judiciary to the Election Commission of Pakistan that has assumed unprecedented strength and impartiality to hold free and fair election thus no political impasse can derail the democratic process of the elections and gone are the days when political parties, having back-door influence, can emerge with engineered elections and its results. Thus the political parties especially the big two trust the judgment of the people rather than fighting for or banking over the hand-picked people. Though no end to impasse in Islamabad is in sight yet the dissolution of Balochistan Assembly is a step in right direction. The leadership of political parties should trust the national institutions that are supposed to uphold the will of the people and writ of the Constitution no matter who rules the roost in next three months or so. Thus the political leadership should waste no time in pre-poll arrangements rather should go to the masses at the earliest to get and adhere to their verdict.