How to avoid forcing political mess on each other
While Nawaz Sharif might still not be convinced of the need to take the opposition into confidence, circumstances have forced him to do so. The moves on the political chessboard by the PTI and PAT have sent alarm bells ringing in the PML-N. Unused to the gentle art of dialogue and persuasion, the Punjab government resorted to brute force to cow down the PAT activists. As the barbaric action backfired, the PML-N leadership got panicky and diverted Tahirul Qadri’s flight to Lahore which created more complications.
The government is also required now to deal with Imran Khan’s ‘million march’ on Islamabad. A move of the type by a parliamentary party which is also ruling a province is unheard of in a democracy where parties resolve the issues in parliament. The participation of the PTI, JI, MQM and PML-Q in Qadri’s APC has given the PML-N leadership another cause of worry. It fears that a grand opposition alliance might be on the cards to force the government out of power. Many in the ruling party fear a conspiracy is afoot at the behest of offstage players.
The prime minister had ignored repeated calls by the opposition to take it on board on major national issues. For a whole year Nawaz Sharif disregarded requests from the Senate to attend its sittings. The National Assembly got only a slightly better treatment. Had the PML-N leadership kept in touch with the opposition and the prime minister had attended National Assembly sittings more frequently there would have been no justification for any parliamentary party to protest in the streets.
The opposition leaders, particularly the PPP, should intervene to resolve the differences between the PML-N and PTI before they become unmanageable. The government needs to remove the PTI’s complaints regarding the four constituencies. It is for Imran Khan to realise that unlike Tahirul Qadri he has too much at stake to go for an all-out confrontation.