- Major opposition parties still not convinced
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is showing no signs of backing down from his “million march” to Islamabad plans and is rather upping the ante on an almost daily basis with statements criticising the government, adamant to send them home packing. But unfortunately for him the two major opposition parties, the PML-N and PPP, do not share his enthusiasm. The PPP has clearly stated that it does not believe in dharna politics, has never practiced it and never will. That leaves the PML-N whose support the Maulana is itching to secure, to no avail, so far. In their latest meeting the party has decided to try and convince the JUI-F chief to delay its plans till November allowing some time for the former to “fully mobilise its ranks”. Both the PML-N and PPP also feel that playing the religion card to make the march a success is unacceptable as it is improper to use faith for political purposes. This is a correct principled stand that is welcome considering how protests under a religious pretext have been disastrous for the country in the very recent past.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has however threatened the government that if NAB arrests CM Sindh Murad Ali Shah, it would be crossing a red line, forcing his party to react in a way that the government would “forget about the Azadi March” (PTI’s 2014 sit-in). Although the PTI continues to push the ‘eliminate corruption’ narrative while maintaining that the NAB is independent, it is becoming clearer with each opposition party arrest that the accountability watchdog is anything but. The senior leadership of both parties is under arrest while being investigated in various cases that keep on multiplying. If the PTI continues on this path of this one-sided excessive political victimisation in the name of accountability then the Maulana might just get his wish and gain the support of both parties. In the event of that happening it will become extremely difficult for the government to function; something it is having trouble doing satisfactorily at present even.
