The federal government’s standoff with the judiciary and military on Wednesday sent shock waves in the political circles triggering increased political activity in which all major parties not only held intra-party consultations but also interacted with one another to find a solution to break the impasse.
At a time when PML-N leaders were meeting in Lahore to discuss the situation after the Supreme Court’s (SC) NRO verdict and the PM’s decision to sack the defence secretary in reaction to an unusually harsh ISPR press release, PPP leaders including Khurshid Shah, Naveed Qamar and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf visited JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to seek his support. Fazl advised the PPP leaders not to confront the judiciary and write a letter to Swiss authorities in pursuance of SC orders.
The PML-Q took a position with its president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain saying that his party was not backing the government but would stand for principles. Shujaat said that the defence secretary had not violated the law but the rules of business. “The government should have shown magnanimity on this,” he said, adding that his party would discuss this issue today (Thursday). The PML-N also summoned a joint meeting of its parliamentary party and central working committee in Islamabad today (Thursday).
The PML-N also decided to contact all political parties, including the PPP’s allies to save the democratic system from collapsing. It was for the first time in the last three years that the PML-N decided to reach out to all political parties, including the PML-Q and the MQM. Perturbed over the tension between state institutions particularly after reports that the military had changed the 111 Brigade commander immediately after the PM’s decision to sack the defence secretary, PPP’s coalition partners, including the MQM and PML-Q called their consultation meetings. The ANP is also holding a meeting today (Thursday) to devise the party’s future political strategy.
The government’s swift and harsh reaction to the ISPR press release by sacking the defence secretary pushed the PPP allies to give second thoughts to their commitments of backing the government. PML-Q sources said that the party would not become part of PPP’s confrontation with the judiciary and military and the Chaudhrys were consistently advising President Zardari to avoid collision with institutions.