PML(N) failing to take stock of the situation
The detailed verdict in the contempt case clarifying the status of Gilani as prime minister has yet not come. Meanwhile the PM has proved that he enjoys the confidence of the majority in National Assembly. The rumpus being created at every sitting of the Senate and NA by the PML(N) parliamentarians therefore would achieve little more than creating temporary obstructions in the smooth working of the parliament. This is bound to make many wonder if the PML(N)’s claim that it stands by the supremacy of Parliament is really genuine.
The agitation inside the parliament has led to the isolation of the PML(N). On Thursday, the NA threw its weight behind the PM by passing a vote of confidence. Reportedly, all parties with the exception of the one ruling Punjab voted for Gilani. Another resolution that the lower house passed was in support of a separate province comprising South Punjab. Unlike the PML(N), the PPP has all along supported a Seraiki province that would comprise all southern districts of Punjab including the entire Bahawalpur Division. This again showed the house stood behind the ruling coalition rather than the PML(N) which wants to carve out a separate Bahawalpur province.
The top political and military leadership is putting their heads together to search for the way ahead in relations with the US. Neither the country’s allies nor the establishment wants instability in the country. The meeting of the newly-formed informal group of decision-makers on Wednesday was the third over the past seven days. The only constitutional way of removing the PM is by calling on him to show majority. The PML(N) has been overtaken by Gilani who took the initiative to prove that he still commands a majority. Under the circumstances, the best way would be to wait for the next elections due in less than a year. One fails to understand the PML(N)’s impatience. It is useless to dissipate energies in organising protests and public meetings when even the leadership is not hopeful of drawing large crowds in view of the rising mercury and the harvesting season. By the time the elections arrive, the PML(N) would have consumed much of its energy against a single rival while others will use the period to make inroads into its constituencies.