Government’s failures may bring opposition parties closer
On Monday Zardari warned PML-N government of the consequences of its faulty policy about the IDPs. On Tuesday he criticised the government for mishandling its differences with the PTI and failure to manage the power sector. The remarks indicate that PPP is henceforth likely to act as an assertive opposition party. While it would be far-fetched to conclude that the PPP is now going to unite the opposition to take on the PML-N government, a grand opposition alliance cannot be ruled out in days to come in case the government fails to deliver or continues to act imperiously.
The PML-N’s first year in power has been characterised by arrogance. It has disregarded the Parliament and taken umbrage at opposition’s criticism. It has recently begun to use the administrative machinery to suppress opponents. The firing on PAT activists that led to the instant killing of nine is unthinkable in a democracy. Forgetting that he too had resorted to a protest march in 2008, Nawaz Sharif maintains that a similar exercise by PTI constitutes a threat to democracy. As Zardari put it the people had elected Sharif as a prime minister rather than an emperor.
Zardari’s criticism of the way the government has handled the issue of IDPs is shared by many. PML-N leadership was unwilling to visualise a situation where a military operation could become necessary. It failed to allocate funds for the IDPs in the annual budget presented on June 3, less than a fortnight before the launching of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. Absence of a contingency plan led to a disorderly and painful exodus of the IDPs. There is still lack of seriousness about arranging financial support to deal with the growing number of IDPs.
During the last one year, the PPP laid greater stress on supporting the government against any undemocratic move. This led the PTI to accuse the party of being hand in glove with the government while the PML-N took PPP for granted. The stand taken by Zardari is likely to rectify the misconceptions.