No party is without its faults
Our political parties badly need to put their house in order to retain their credibility among the masses. The results of the recent by-elections should be an eye-opener for the PML-N, PTI and PPP.
Imran Khan had threatened to expel his MPA Shafqat Rabera if he failed to immediately withdraw his support to independent candidate Riazul Haq Juj. Instead of taking the promised disciplinary action, two top PTI leaders in Punjab reportedly accompanied Rabera to Juj’s residence to persuade him to join the PTI. This would send the message that the PTI is no different from other parties which it condemns for wheeling and dealing. The PML-N too has behaved no differently. To woo Juj who also defeated the PML-N’s nominee, the party is reportedly offering him a ministerial slot.
Khawaja Asif and Ch Nisar are not on speaking terms. It would be hard to imagine even a coalition government where the minister for defence and the interior minister do not talk to each other for years. While one commends the efforts on the part of the PM to persuade cabinet members to attend to their work instead of washing their dirty linen in public, much more needs to be done to create the perception of a united cabinet working with a singleness of purpose.
Two and a half years after an ignominious defeat in general elections, followed by an equally humiliating performance in the recent by-elections in Punjab, it is incredible that the PPP leadership still doesn’t know what led to the spectacular flame out, and why it should be surprised by the latest setback? With the top party leadership visiting the province as absentee landlords go to see their estates, the results could not have been any different. The party has now appointed a committee to find out the reasons for the debacle. Committees of the sort are normally formed soon after the general elections. The delay betrays the leadership’s indifference to the party’s plight.