- Opposition offers its services to fix the economy
The NAB chairman had maintained in his controversial interview in May that he had avoided taking any action that could lead to the fall of the PTI government purely in national interest. That the COAS agreed to be a member of the National Development Council presided over by the PM again indicated the way the wind was blowing. The opposition however declared at the APC that the July 2018 elections were engineered to install Imran Khan as PM, the Senate Chairman being partial had to be removed, the country was suffering on account of the PTI leadership’s incompetence while the budget was unrealistic and anti-poor. Shahbaz Sharif issued a call for mid-term elections to “fix the ailing economy”.
And now comes the backlash. Suddenly a number of PML-N legislators are reported to have turned up at Banigala. This has led the PTI leadership to gleefully claim that many more were about to leave the PML-N. The euphoria stands in contrast to Imran Khan’s moralistic denunciation of horse trading that took place in the past particularly his shaming of the Changha Manga affair.
In the 90’s horse trading was aimed at overthrowing elected governments. In the wake of October 2002 elections Musharraf employed NAB to buy the loyalties of opposition MNAs to provide the king’s party the required numbers to form government. The ongoing exercise is neither meant to overthrow an elected government nor to form a government with the help of the turncoats. It is instead aimed at weakening the opposition. As those breaking ranks with the PML-N stand to gain nothing; a perception is created that they might be having skeletons in their closets and are changing loyalties to save their skins.
On Monday PPP Co-chair Asif Ali Zardari was arrested by NAB in Park Lane case also and might soon land up in NAB custody. The same day a reference was filed against PPP Senator Rubina Khalid in an accountability court. The buying of loyalties, filing of fresh cases and arrests would only lead to the opposition demanding mid-term elections more forcefully. The opposition wants dialogue not with the government but its patrons. This can be delayed but can it be averted?
