- A marriage of convenience
Every now and then the public is told of an imminent split in the PML-N which would deprive it of its formidable majority in Punjab. The merger or alliance of Janoobi Punjab Suba Mahaz with the PTI would add to the latter’s strength if the newcomers manage to win their seats in the forthcoming elections. South Punjab has 42 National Assembly seats (46 if Sahiwal is also included). Imran Khan has succeeded in winning over only five members with the promise of getting them South Punjab as an administrative province. The PTI chief has suddenly discovered that agreeing to the formation of a new province “is not a political decision but a conviction”. This is like Nawaz Sharif suddenly discovering that he has turned ideological. The lengthy and somewhat comprehensive PTI manifesto for 2013 elections makes no mention whatsoever of South Punjab as an issue worth serious consideration. This is therefore a late conversion to the idea dictated by political exigencies rather than conviction.
While the PTI spokesman insists that the newcomers have merged into the PTI, the JPM secretary general has emphatically told media that what has taken place is an alliance between the two entities rather than a merger. There are thus still unresolved issues in the union between the PTI and JPM.
With South Punjab province issue suddenly assuming importance a couple of months before the elections, other parties too have taken up matter, with everyone bidding higher for support. Bilawal Bhutto whose, PPP made no attempt to create a new province during its recent five year tenure, wants now a full-fledged province to be carved out of Punjab. He insists PPP is the only party that can deliver. In yet another exercise in one-upmanship, Javed Hashmi has announced a movement to create a full-fledged federating province of South Punjab instead of an administrative one promised by the JPM. He has called upon the Punjab CM to set up a commission for the creation of the new province. There is a likelihood of Nawaz Sharif raising the bet further to outsmart the rivals during his public address in Multan this afternoon.