- When rivers flood, humans and snakes are together on trees
With the MMA agreeing to sit in the NA, the opposition is united. The return to the Parliament by parties who were calling for re-election is a positive development. To provide MMA a fig leaf, it has been agreed to confront the government both inside and outside the Parliament. As the parties have put up no concrete demands, confrontation would mean keeping the government under pressure by vigilantly watching its moves.
The united opposition has taken a number of concrete decisions. It has decided to contest the office of the prime minister, agreeing to support the PML-N’s candidate for the slot. While the combined opposition enjoys a lead over the PTI in the number of MNAs elected, quite a few independents and PML-Q legislators have lately joined hands with Imran Khan. Keeping in view the support he receives from other sources, there is apparently little chance of Khan being defeated by the opposition’s nominee. The contest however is meant to show to all and sundry that the opposition does not accept the PTI chief as PM.
The opposition has also agreed to support the PPP candidate for the slot of the NA Speaker and that of the MMA for the office of the Deputy Speaker. The voting will reveal if the opposition is really united. A more contentious issue was the nomination for the Leader of the Opposition where both the PML-N and the PPP were rivals. The issue has been postponed for the time being.
The opposition comprises heterogeneous elements brought together by sheer necessity. There was no love lost between the PPP and the PML-N before the elections. The opposition parties put up candidates against one another who conducted quite a bitter campaign against their opponents. There are strong political differences between the PPP and MMA over the rights of women and minorities, role of religion in politics and relations with India. The PML-N shares some of the views of the PPP and some of the MMA. The alliance is here, but how long it stays is a matter of guess.
