PPP isolated on GST, judges’ appointment

ISLAMABAD: As serious differences have developed in the four-party ruling coalition over the reformed general sales tax (GST) and the parliamentary committee on appointment of judges, it is for the first time in three years that the PPP appears to have lost the confidence of all its allies and stands alone to face belligerent opposition parties.
Although the PPP has so far been successful in keeping the coalition of strange bedfellows intact, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the Awami National Party (ANP) have clearly dissociated themselves from the controversial reformed GST bill already tabled in both Houses of parliament besides rejecting the nominations for the parliamentary committee to approve the appointment of judges.
While the two major opposition parties – the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the PML-Quaid – have also rejected the bill, they are part of the parliamentary committee on judges’ appointment as their leaderships accommodated each other’s nominees in the Senate and the National Assembly.
The PPP nominated its own members for the parliamentary committee and that too without consulting the MQM, the JUI-F and the ANP, suggesting that it wanted to dominate the parliamentary committee and have a strong numerical position to approve or disapprove any nominations made by the judicial commission.
The parliamentary committee comprises eight members – four from the PPP and two each from the PML-N and the PML-Q.
It is understandable that if the PPP accommodates its coalition partners, its position will be very weak with just one member in the committee against four opposition members and it is not compulsory for the MQM, the JUI-F and the ANP to be on the same page with the PPP to recommend or oppose the nominees of the judicial commission.
But this decision of the PPP has certainly ignited a new controversy which will not only plague the fragile coalition but will also make the parliamentary process controversial at least in the case of the judges’ appointment.
A source told Pakistan Today that JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman had decided to once again contact the MQM and the ANP leaderships to jointly take a position on this and other such issues the government had decided unilaterally.
“He (Fazl) will shortly contact the MQM and the ANP. He had already spoken to them on the attitude of the PPP but they had not taken it seriously. Now we expect that they will respond positively as they have also rejected these nominations,” the source, who is close to the JUI-F chief, said.
The government – with all its allies annoyed and the opposition parties opposed to the reformed GST – will face difficulties in getting the bill passed from the Senate and the National Assembly.
The bill will surely be rejected in the respective standing committees of both the Houses of parliament where the PPP does not have a clear majority. Though the approval or disapproval of these committees is not binding on any of the two Houses of parliament, the bill will be stuck in the Senate and the National Assembly.
The only option for the government to get it through is to negotiate with the opposition parties and its allies and convince them to abstain from both Houses when it comes to pass the controversial bill.
Normally, those opposed to any “unpopular” decision of the government take a strong position in public for political mileage but either they, after hypocritically protesting and sloganeering, walk out or abstain from the respective House of parliament at the time of voting leaving the field open for the treasury to continue with the legislative business.
However, it is not clear what position the PPP’s allies and the opposition parties finally take on this issue in parliament.