Three different public addresses. The President in Karachi, PML(N) leader Nawaz Sharif in Muzaffarabad and MQM chief in Bhit Shah, Sindh through telephone. Though there was much huffing and puffing in all three, only the last two went about naming names. President Asif Ali Zardaris address at the launch of a housing scheme for PIA employees was about the vaguely defined killers of the Bhuttos. He seemed to exude a confidence that belied the dire straits his coalition is in these days. Perhaps there is a reason for this. A look at the other two addresses might explain.
The Altaf rally posed many questions to the audience. Should we quit the coalition, he said, there would be no tension between the Sindhis and the Urdu-speakers. Though this could mean to imply the exact opposite. In a final declaration made to forces greater than rally audiences, the MQM supremo said that he would topple the government were the ISI chief sent to the US for questioning. But still no indication of where to shift loyalties within the constitutional framework. That the MQM does not really have many options was made even more clear by the Muzaffarabad rally where the PML(N) chief once again made it clear that he wont play ball with the MQM. All this despite making a decidedly anti-PPP speech.
In this, probably, lies the PPPs strength. Its detractors cant really play well with each other. Even the much hyped anti-government alliance that is doing the rounds at the rumour mills these days would comprise of the minor Leagues and the fan club known as the Tehrik-e-Insaf. All of this is, of course, in addition to the fact that it is a bad time to be in government.
That the present government has survived for so long and will probably continue to is a testament not just to the ruling partys navigation but also to the PML(N)s coming of age as a political entity that has its eye on the bigger picture.
