- A formidable challenge as PTI fails to deliver
The PPP and PML-N, who had long been at cross purposes, came together on Tuesday drawing the rest of the parliamentary opposition also into a grand alliance. The partners have decided to work in consonance both inside and outside Parliament.
Soon after receiving reports from government agencies regarding a grand alliance being in the offing, Imran Khan belatedly directed the PTI spokesmen to be humble and respectful in their interaction with the media and the opposition. Somehow or other the message failed to reach Fawad Chaudhry who continued to rant against the PPP leadership and Sindh CM. Soon after the announcement of the alliance a soft spoken Nadeem Afzal Chan was appointed PM’s spokesperson. The PTI hawks have meanwhile taken the hype to a pitch that toning it down would take time and may not alone be sufficient to redress the perceived wrongs done to the alliance partners.
The announcement of the alliance could act as a catalytic agent for the PTI led coalition, weakening Imran Khan’s hold over his partners. The BNP-M sent two of its leaders as observers to the formation of the alliance while Akhtar Mengal announced that his party would not support any wrong step by the PTI government and would stand by the opposition’s just demands. The PM will have to get BNP-M’s call regarding missing persons accepted by the army failing which the loss of four MNAs would weaken the government. Imran Khan will also have to accede to the demands of his other coalition partners even at the expense of good governance further exposing his holier-than-thou stance.
The grand alliance needs to act responsibly as a wave of pubic unrest could rise in months to come as a reaction against the PTI’s lack of performance. The opposition would have to respond in a way that does not weaken the system or provide undemocratic forces an opportunity to stage a come back. For this Imran Khan too will have to come off his high horse by attending NA sessions regularly. Only a a strengthened Parliament can deter the opposition from taking to streets, a trend set by Imran Khan himself while in opposition.