- Are PTI and PML-N getting closer?
It is becoming abundantly clear that the PTI had done little homework before forming the government. The party therefore failed to hit the ground running that it had promised. The stand taken by one of Imran Khan’s ace advisors about the CPEC is just one example of the persisting confusion in the PTI ranks. Over two months in power the government remains undecided when to announce the hike in power charges. An IMF staff level team is scheduled to arrive next week but the government waits for response to its request for loans from friendly countries. Malaysia has now replaced UAE in the list of friends indeed.
Former President Zardari is not entirely off the mark when he complains that the government is incompetent. There is however another equally valid view which holds that a little over two months of incumbency is too small a period to judge the performance of a government. The PPP and PML-N are gradually realising that one of the factors that helped PTI to win the election with a paper thin majority was the squabbles among the opposition which stood in the way of their collaboration even in constituencies where this could have changed the results.
The signals emanating from the PPP indicate a possible decrease in tensions between the PPP and PML-N after the heightening of pressure from the FIA and NAB on the PPP leadership. Whatever the outcome of the NAB cases, there remains a need for a strong opposition bloc in Parliament that can keep the government on its toes by pointing out the drawbacks in its working and exposing its faulty policies. This will not only project a positive image of the opposition among the general public but also provide an opportunity to the ruling party to correct its mistakes. The opposition however must avoid the temptation to use the accumulating resentment against rising prices and service charges by premature calls for agitation. The PTI being the party in power it is going to be judged by its performance. It is time for the government to concentrate on its job instead of wasting all energy on recounting the failures of the past two governments.