‘The government is paralysed’
It will limp along to the next general election
It’s a good time to interview Aitzaz Ahsan. It was for a reason that Khurshid Shah was side stepped in his favour at the joint session, when he so eloquently presented the combined position, and dilemma, of the opposition. The dharna deadlock was at its worst, the ‘third umpire’ had not yet come out with its position, and, for a moment, the noose seemed tightening around Nawaz.
The second speech was no less thrilling – the jabs at Ch Nisar, that began with Ghalib – and set the tone of things to come. True, there was still no love lost between the PPP and the N league, but the former would not repeat the latter’s posturing of the memogate days. The opposition would instead stand by the system, even if it meant Nawaz became the face of democracy. And he came out strongly as the face of the party, assuming a position from where they could boast saving Nawaz from his third premature ouster as prime minister.
He really meant it when he said that all opposition parties would follow him if he chose to walk out.
“They all told me that they would end the support and walk out with me”, he said. But that was towards the end of the interview. We began with the government’s present position, 17 months into power, with a cabinet reshuffle in the offing.
The leader of the opposition in the senate is not very impressed. “Their performance is quite dismal and we are unhappy”, he said.
Standing by the government did not mean the opposition would also start agreeing with its policies. And the government has not helped. Its record speaks for itself.
“The economy is haemorrhaging and the government is paralysed. And the prime minister has the same team around him that failed him twice before, and led him to humiliation”.
Standing by the government did not mean the opposition would also start agreeing with its policies. And the government has not helped. Its record speaks for itself
The credibility of the prime minister’s team has been called into question quite often of late. Aitzaz mentioned it in the Assembly, then it did the rounds in the press, and the ANP also joined in at the senate recently when OGDC employees were thrashed in Islamabad. And it’s not just alleged incompetence of certain ministers and close aids of the Sharifs, it’s their attitude in particular that rubs other parties the wrong way.
“The pride and vanity of most of this government’s ministers is unprecedented”, he added. “They don’t come to parliament and they don’t meet MNAs. As defence minister, Khawaja Asif has gone to office only once, which says a lot”.
He is not surprised that such attitude is tolerated in the N league. It’s not as if the prime minister takes parliament too seriously either. And then, according to him, it is also because party bigwigs have realised that it is not their performance that they will be judged on, at least in the party. It seems they have developed this idea in their minds that they will always take Punjab. And it takes little more than pandering to the Sharifs to get ministries.
“And they just refuse to learn”, he went on. “Even now they have learnt nothing. That is because they are smug, complacent and arrogant. Many are also corrupt. Nandipur and LNG scandals continue to stare them in the face”.
There was, of course, some back-and-forth between the government and opposition parties as the dharna situation became complicated. Nobody can deny the PPP had more than democracy in mind when it defended the ‘system’. Nobody could afford to let the floodgates open, especially not then with the economy in shambles, the army finally fighting the insurgency, and the political system choked with agitation. And apparently Nawaz did give some solid assurances.
“We warned Nawaz Sharif in very clear terms. We told him to institute independent and fair inquiries into allegations of corruption, especially the Nandipur and LNG scandals, and appointment of political cronies”.
Yet when the storm subsided, or at least when Nawaz’s premiership was no longer in danger, the promises were not honoured. But did that surprise him? He knows the genesis and evolution of the N league better than most politicians. Still he went along with the party’s decision to support Nawaz when he was at his weakest. Didn’t he know they were backing a weak horse?
“Of course we are perturbed”, was his reply. “We had assurances that the government would reinvent itself. And it had to if it wanted to survive, so we gave it the benefit of doubt. We still hope it will mend its ways”.
There was, of course, some back-and-forth between the government and opposition parties as the dharna situation became complicated. Nobody can deny the PPP had more than democracy in mind when it defended the ‘system’
If it doesn’t, Nawaz will not have the PPP standing by his party anymore. That much Aitzaz made clear in the Senate, when the government’s flawed privatisation policy led to the OGDC sell-off scare, which pushed its employees to protest in the red zone, which in turn led to a brutal police crackdown in the capital. Ch Nisar took much of the criticism, with the opposition calling for his resignation and many (again) holding him responsible for Nawaz’s many downfalls.
Interestingly, though, even as the PPP supported the ‘system’ and Nawaz’s government, it did not fail to take advantage of the N-league’s back-foot position in Punjab, where the PPP suffered a rout in the ’13 election. With the ruling party giving ground, and PTI and PAT generating momentum from their jalsas, the PPP too thought it opportune to step into the fray. What has followed is what sections of the press call the longest election campaign in the country’s history.
So, with Operation Punjab visibly underway – Zardari sb himself saying as much and spending time in Lahore – and Bilawal finally formally launched, is the PPP really just posturing for the ’18 election, or is something else brewing? Is there weight, after all, in PTI and PAT positions that the government is still not out of the water, and chances of it falling are still real? Is there really a possibility of mid-term polls (some commentators have started calling it the M word)?
“Remember, announcement of mid-term polls is the sole discretion of the prime minister”, he said quickly. That means, of course, that there is no possibility of the M scenario. “Nobody should expect them. Even if the government just stumbles on lamely and does not perform, Nawaz will not resign or dissolve the assembly”, he added.
And the PPP posturing, he explained, was not in preparation of some snap election. It is a necessary exercise. The party obviously faces a huge challenge, particularly in Punjab. “We have to go back to the drawing board and initiate programs that will revive the leadership at the provincial level”.
I reminded him how seriously Peoples Party workers took their years of service. During an interview a former PPP minister once told me it took him 30 years as a political worker to earn a ministry. He even mentioned how Aitzaz had been politically active for 50 years to be where he was. I did that because my last question was about the new chairman, and how Aitzaz felt about his position in the context of his experience.
“Actually the new chairman is proving very good for the party,” he explained. “He understands the situation fully and is an integral part of party efforts to reinvigorate itself. He is already proving invaluable in reviving the youth base of the party”.
He is even departing from some of the party’s stated positions. But that is after consultation and meant to lay groundwork for the party’s future position.
“In these times, everybody in on a learning curve”, he concluded. “Bilawal is steering the party into the future. He is a good choice”.
