The emerging threat?

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has made it clear to the politicians having the “March Syndrome” that the PPP-led coalition will not only sweep the Senate elections but will also be presenting the fifth consecutive budget of its tenure. The message is loud and clear: There are not going to be any snap polls.

The observation came at time when political temperature in the country started heating up after the PML(N) leadership formally launched the “Go-Zardari-go” campaign. Mian Nawaz Sharif, who spent the last about four years on relaxing junkets abroad or remained ensconced in his Raiwind Estate has suddenly discovered that his party is running out of time to topple the “most corrupt” regime the country has ever had.

The League and the rest of the opposition are now using corruption as a stick to beat the government with and it’s not without reason. The menace having assumed alarming proportions now threatens to discredit democracy and destabilise the system. The PPP leadership spent more time outmanoeuvring the opposition by its political moves rather than addressing the genuine grievances of the masses badly affected by the power outages, lawlessness and rising cost of living.

It cannot escape the blame for constantly ignoring the issues of governance. The biggest failure on its part was that Karachi kept on bleeding with more than 380 people killed only during the first six months of the current year and the federal and provincial governments were shaken out of complacency only after the Supreme Court had initiated suo motto proceedings into target killings which showed no sign of abating.

The law and order situation in Balochistan is equally disturbing. It is deteriorating not with the passing months but in a matter of weeks and days. The country’s largest province which had been subjected to neglect, ethnic persecution and the worst kind of repression during Musharraf’s prolonged military rule is now rapidly sliding into sectarian violence. As many as 29 Shia pilgrims travelling to Iran were killed near Mastung last month. It was the most brutal assault in which unidentified gunmen ordered the pilgrims off their bus, lined them up and assassinated them in a hail of gunfire.

The situation has evoked serious concerns not only for the Baloch but for the entire nation. You can’t expect it all to be less worrisome with Rehman Malik presiding over the Interior Ministry. And why is he holding the portfolio that shouldn’t have been assigned to him at all can only be explained by President Zardari who might have an exclusive claim on the wisdom. Prime Minister Gilani has meanwhile decided to personally intervene and ensure rapid implementation of the Balochistan Package because he understands that further delay in the process would not only exacerbate the sense of deprivation among the people of the province but also lend strength to those nurturing separatist tendencies.

But then counting its failures and overlooking its successes is being a bit unfair to the PPP government. Granting provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan, taking timely measures to stabilise Swat after rehabilitating the internally displaced persons, enhancing share of the provinces from federal resources through the National Finance Commission Award and above all restoring the 1973 Constitution to its original form through the unanimous approval of the 18th Amendment are some of the achievements for which credit cannot be taken away from the current dispensation.

Mian Nawaz and the hawks in his party keep pointing the finger of accusation at the Zardari-Gilani regime but then the performance of his own party in the Punjab remains dismal. Bad governance prevails in the province on the kid brother’s watch. Fourth year into power and Mian Shahbaz has not been able to turn the province into what he had perceived it to be. The dreaded thana culture continues to persist with the police lately assuming the role of the executioner rather than the protector of the citizenry. The provincial exchequer has been burdened with huge overdrafts from the State Bank and billions of rupees were consumed by the sasti roti scheme and the Danish School project.

The anti-incumbency factor combined with lack of governance is going to adversely affect the PPP and the PML(N) at the hustings. But it is the emergence of Tehrik-i-Insaf as a new political force to reckon with that might be sending shivers down the spine of the League leadership which can easily comprehend the consequences of the split in the rightwing votebank. And Imran Khan is in no mood to spare both mainstream parties in his offensive diatribes against them. If he targets the federal government for its incompetence and financial mismanagement he is equally ruthless in his criticism of the Punjab’s ruling elite; he wants the Sharifs to declare their assets and bring home the money they have stashed away in their bank accounts abroad.

The writer is Executive Editor, Pakistan Today.