Zardari’s gambit

PTI will be isolated if it continued its path of agitative politics

Asif Ali Zardari has returned to the centre stage of politics almost two years after his party suffered a debacle in national elections and lost the preeminent position it had enjoyed. Still supporting the right of the PML-N government to complete its constitutional tenure, the PPP Co-Chairman has come out boldly against the proposed 22nd Amendment supported jointly by Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan. This is the first major political encounter between the PML-N and the PPP after the 2003 elections.

Talks being Zardari’s forte he has already arrayed the JUI-F and ANP against the change in the mode of the Senate elections. The PPP chief hopes to rope in the QWP also. He has talked to Imran Khan and Sirajul Haq on phone despite their being in the opposite camp. Zardari has something that is bound to attract both Imran Khan and Sirajul Haq in days to come. He has promised to issue a white paper on malpractices that took place during the 2003 elections and has invited them to join hands with him to work for a more comprehensive electoral reforms to ensure corruption-free polls.

Imran Khan is threatened by the prospects of the alliance forged by PPP on the eve of the Senate polls. The PPP, JUI-F, ANP, and QWP are all PTI’s rivals in KP. Acting individually they count for little. An agreement between them to form a joint panel could however significantly improve their electoral gains. This explains Imran Khan’s diatribe against Zardari.

The Senate election fever will end this week. The issue of electoral reforms will then assume top position on the Parliament’s agenda. Imran Khan has to realise that there is no way for him to materialise his dreams if he does not join hands with other parties to reform the electoral system. For this he has to return to the National Assembly and cooperate with others who are keen to introduce reforms. The PML-N and opposition parties should encourage the PTI leadership to abandon the agitation mode which leads to political wilderness and isolation.