PML-N’s inaction helps govt survive another tough year

The government’s maneuvering tactics and the confused politics of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) gave a lease of life to the former for another year but Nawaz Sharif’s inaction cost the PML-N dearly as the vacuum created by the PML-N was filled by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).
Despite making tall claims in the media and staging frequent walkouts from parliament throughout the year, the major opposition party, the PML-N, failed to play the role of a dynamic opposition in leading the people annoyed with “bad governance and poor management” of the PPP government until October when the Nawaz-League in response to Imran Khan’s growing popularity, launched the ‘Go-Zardari-Go’ movement which also lost its momentum in few weeks on unknown grounds.
Though the PML-N decided to be a real opposition to the PPP in the beginning of the year, to win masses’ sympathies and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif following the same line of action ousted PPP ministers from his cabinet in February, the Nawaz-led party could not resume the role of a vibrant opposition and failed in developing working relationships with the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) to give tough time to the government in and outside parliament until the latter was convinced by the PPP leadership to join ruling coalition.
Upon realising that the PML-N’s policy of tolerance was providing a lot of political space to the cricketer-turned-politician, the PML-N launched the ‘Go-Zardari-Go’ movement in October 2011 and also staged massive public rallies in Lahore and Faisalabad but the delayed movement also died half-way as the PML-N could not carry on with the same tempo due to differences of opinion within the party ranks.
While the PML-N failed to become a tough opposition to the PPP in the Centre, the ouster of the PPP from the coalition government in Punjab and later the PML-Q’s joining of the federal government in May, turned the PPP and the PML-Q into a joint force to challenge and criticise Shahbaz’s government in the PML-N’s stronghold. The PPP-PML-Q alliance continued giving a tough resistance to the Shahbaz Sharif government but only in the Punjab Assembly as the alliance too remained unsuccessful in destabilising PML-N’s provincial government by bringing the people to the streets.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s flip-flops also pushed it to play role of opposition for the PPP in the Centre and in Sindh for around three months.
In June, the MQM ministers resigned from the federal and provincial cabinets as well as its leader and Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad also resigned from his post. The separation from the coalition government was in reaction to the last-minute postponement of the AJK elections from the Karachi seat which the MQM considered cheating by its ally, the PPP. “The dictatorial and unconstitutional steps by the PPP government have compelled the MQM to part ways and sit on the opposition benches in the centre and Sindh,” said Farooq Sattar.
Apart from its failure in exerting pressure on the PPP government, the opposition parties also failed to present a comprehensive roadmap for the resolution of problems confronting the nation. The PML-N could not compile its manifesto despite numerous rounds of intra-party deliberations on the piece of policy paper.
Other smaller opposition parties like the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, the Jamaat-e-Islami, and the PPP-Sherpao too could not bring forward their roadmaps for steering the country out of crises. The PML-N presented a 10-point agenda asking the government to implement and also form a four-member committee to negotiate with the government’s team for its implementation but the talks between the two sides ended in a fiasco and the agenda evaporated in the air.
Despite being on the opposition benches, the JUI-F remained the government’s ally and the efforts launched by Fazlur Rehman in March to present a unified front of the opposition parties also went in vain primarily because to mistrust between various parties representing the opposition. Leaders of various parties including Nisar Ali Khan, Shujaat Hussain, Farooq Sattar, Prof Khursheed and Hasil Bazinjo had sat together for an informal chat at the residence of JUI-F chief and vowed to play the role of an “effective opposition in an effort to steer the country out of crises” but it proved to be their last meeting.