The party is in a process of ‘internal re-organisation’
Qamar Zaman Kaira was often credited, perhaps rightly, with having the worst job in the last PPP government – having to defend it – yet playing his part best among cabinet colleagues. He wasn’t information minister for the full term, but often enough, and there was much that was difficult to defend in those times: TTP on a roll, unprecedented power crisis, memogate, Osama bin Laden, Mumbai (26/11) and subsequent pressure on Pakistan, just to name a few things.
He also became the government’s most dependable negotiator; his personal touch played no small part, some said at the time, in taming the firebrand cleric Tahirul Qadri out of his first revolution attempt. He has been one of the more dependable and respectable faces of PPP since it was routed out of government in the ’13 general election. In fact, his ‘touch’ brought the party the only little face-saving it could manage in the recent local body poll in Punjab.
These days PPP is in a rather difficult position, to say the least. And, surprisingly, it has not made many visible attempts to resurrect its fortunes, especially in Punjab. Zardari sb tried to put the house in order during a couple of short trips, but not much worked out. Then they tried to catapult Bilawal a little ahead of schedule, but that too did not accomplish much. However, not all is at it seems, and the party is in the process of a quiet internal re-organisation, Kaira told DNA during an exclusive interview. But first he talked about more urgent matters.
Important for Pakistan
The most urgent matter of the day is the fallout of the Pathankot incident in India, of course, and the allegedly linked attack on the Indian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan.
The setting is very different from ’08, of course. There has been a seemingly serious advance towards peace after another round of bitter positioning since BJP took office. And while the Modi government has been more circumspect than its predecessor, it has still attached any progress on negotiations with Pakistan’s cooperation on the matter
The PPP government experienced a much worse version of a similar phenomenon after Mumbai. So Kaira’s insight is important.
“If the Indians provide serious, credible, actionable intelligence, we must take serious action”, he said.
The setting is very different from ’08, of course. There has been a seemingly serious advance towards peace after another round of bitter positioning since BJP took office. And while the Modi government has been more circumspect than its predecessor, it has still attached any progress on negotiations with Pakistan’s cooperation on the matter.
“But this is important not just to keep the peace process on track or please the Indians”, he pointed out. “It is important for Pakistan”.
The present setting simply does not allow us to tolerate any militant activity, or planning, on our soil. We are too deeply invested in the war against terrorism.
“These militants are a big danger for us. It is in our own interest, more than anybody else’s, for us to be rid of them once and for all”.
But, again, this will take credible evidence and intelligence sharing from both sides. Unless this matter is tackled bilaterally, Kaira emphasised, and with sincerity, it will appear again and again in the future.
That, invariably, raises another question, one both the government and the military have been quiet about despite the many successes of Zarb-e-Azb.
What of those non-TTP militants that have, allegedly, enjoyed state patronage for a long time.
Government’s will
Though he didn’t say it in as many words, it seems Kaira is among those who believe that the time has come for the government to come out with a clear policy about all sorts of militant groups with any sort of presence in the country.
The National Action Plan (NAP) demanded as much. But, unfortunately, it is not such a straight forward matter for the ruling party.
“There are linkages between PML-N and some of these extremist groups”, Kaira said. “Much of the hard-line community is the N league’s core voting constituency”.
That explains official reluctance, in Punjab as well as the centre, in pursuing all militant organisations.
“Our (government’s) position was very clear”, he added. “Our benchmark was tolerance. If any group or organisation was found spreading intolerance of any kind, we would take action against them”.
The present government, going by Kaira, is not interested in an across-the-board evaluation; hence the bottlenecks in NAP. Its own preferences and lack of will are stalling the entire operation.
And similar problems are causing foreign policy troubles as well. The pro-Saudi tilt especially – in times of growing crisis in the Middle East and with potentially direct spillover effect on Pakistan because of proximity with Iran – is one such example.
“Parliament is up in arms but the prime minister is not willing to take the House into confidence” he snapped.
“We respect Saudi Arabia, but we are not their slaves. Iran is equally important for us. We cannot afford to take such decisions arbitrarily, without taking the entire political spectrum on board”.
PPP believes Pakistan should have played its cards very differently.
“No, neutrality was not an option”, he explained when asked if it was better to sit this one out.
“The prime minister should have actually intervened and used his good offices, and proximity with the al Saud, to impress upon Riyadh the futility of confrontation”.
The party is also consulting “friends and colleagues” from different institutions, including the media, to frame its new grand strategy that will prepare it for the next poll
That proximity has, instead, led to a very different course. And it remains to be seen what the Sharifs’ actions in this particular case will cost Pakistan in the long run.
And the PPP?
That told us a little about his thoughts on the present government. But what about the PPP? What of its own problems, and why the apparent lack of concern on part of the leaders?
He does not, rather cannot, deny the present state of affairs. He’s been with the party through much better days. And apparently plans are afoot to restore at least some of the lost old glory.
“Yes, the party is in the process of an internal re-organisation”, he relented when pressed. Apparently they are not making too much noise about the exercise.
“We are studying different scenarios in great detail. We are evaluating our own internal dynamics, our strengths, reach and weaknesses in different areas and parts”, he said.
The party is also consulting “friends and colleagues” from different institutions, including the media, to frame its new grand strategy that will prepare it for the next poll.
But that can prove difficult with the political storms the party is facing in its last stronghold. The row over Rangers’ stay and powers has not gone to the liking of PPP.
“I think the Sindh government has displayed great fortitude in this matter”, he said, adding that “the centre should now do the same”.
The interior minister, he thought, should now go to Sindh to bring this matter to a mutually agreeable arrangement.
“We should not move towards a clash, that benefits nobody. Instead there should be increased engagement”.
Other than that he was naturally dismissive of talk about rifts between senior party members and rumours about Zardari sb not being able to come back. Such speculation, he said, has always existed. They said the same about Zardari sb some years ago when he was in office, and they said the same about BB some more years ago when she was alive.
And he was pretty sure PPP would turn around, it will overcome the political hurdles in Sindh, and Zardari sb will return “when the time is right”.
