It’s not all blue skies ahead
Asif Ali Zardari had returned to Pakistan with a positive message.In his first speech after arrival he had acknowledged that there was lot of disappointment in the country but had emphasised that he had come with a message of hope. Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif too had welcomed Zardari’s decision to return and had stressed the affinity between the two parties which, he said, had jointly signed the Charter of Democracy.
It came as a surprise when hours before Zaradi’s arrival, Rangers raided the offices of one of his confidantes, claiming the recovery of a cache of arms. What raised eyebrows was the timing of the raid. A PPP spokesman condemned Chaudhary Nisar for trying to portray these raids as having some kind of relevance to the political situation in the country. What is more, the raids were conducted without taking the Sindh government into confidence. A day after, the Interior Minister made rancorous remarks about Zardari and Khursheed Shah with a fling at Ayan Ali.
The Rangers are a paramilitary force which comes under the Interior Ministry. It is hard to believe that Nisar would have taken the action without the blessings of the high-ups. Knowing well the political fall out of the raids he must have consulted the Prime Minister. The raids combined with Ch Nisar’s remarks would further deepen the prevailing estrangement between the PPP and PML-N .
Many had expected that with Zardari back in Pakistan there would be attempts by the government and the opposition to return to the negotiating table instead of moving towards confrontation in the streets. Unless Nawaz Sharif takes the initiative for rapprochement, the PPP would be forced, against its wishes, to join hands with those who are keen to take recourse to agitation in the form of long marches and sit-ins. This will imply the beginning of the election campaign over fifteen months before the polls, setting a new record after the one year long 1970 election campaign. Whoever else might benefit from this, it is not going to be the ruling party.