ISLAMABAD – With the political situation heating up with JUI-F’s departure from the coalition, hectic consultations continue among major players to assess the possibilities of new alignments.
Although no political party has come up with a clear agenda for the future, background discussions with leaders of mainstream political parties suggest that everyone is adhering to a wait-and-see policy.
The PML-N does not want to take any decision in haste, as its leadership has decided to observe the wheeling-dealing minutely. “Some people have already taken a decision while others have said that they would take one soon … let them decide first and then we will decide which course to follow,” PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif said on Saturday.
However, he suggested that his party would not go against the government if it took right decisions. “If the president gives a positive response to my letter, we will certainly respond positively,” he said, adding that doors for cooperation with the government would remain open.
“We will take a decision on the developing political situation in our party meeting … we are observing the situation,” Nawaz said, adding that it was for the government to take corrective measures to improve governance and check corruption. He also categorically ruled out any possibility of a patch-up with the Chaudhrys.
“The time for a patch-up has passed … they worked with [Pervez] Musharraf and supported all his acts,” he said, indicating that “N” and “Q” would not be part of any new political alignment. A PML-N source told Pakistan Today that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had approached his party to discuss the situation and “we clearly told the MQM that at present the PML-N was not considering an in-house change”.
“A number of PML-N senior leaders still suspect the JUI-F’s move and think Fazlur Rehman may bargain with the government and rejoin the coalition,” he said, adding that the PML-N leaders were also of the opinion that the MQM would never part ways with the PPP. The MQM, which has already given a ten-day deadline to the government to explain its position regarding Zulfiqar Mirza’s statement, has also contacted leaders of various political parties to assess the situation following the JUI-F’s separation from the government.
The most active of all political parties is the PML-Q, as its President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain continues to remain in constant contact with Fazlur Rehman. Though a power-sharing deal between the PPP and the PML-Q was in the process, Shujaat has now said that his party would not support a crumbling government.
