The PML-N under siege

• The battle for Islamabad begins in earnest

Six months before elections 2018 the PML-N government is under joint attack from the PTI, PPP, PAT, Brelvi clerics and so called spiritual leaders. The PML-N has thrown hints that it is also being targeted by the courts and the army. Unlike elections 2013, this time the fighting is going to be nasty, brutal and prolonged. The isolation where the PML-N government finds itself is due to its leadership’s hubris, its supreme disregard for parliament, its maltreatment of the political opponents, and its confrontation with judiciary and army. Nawaz Sharif’s keenness to retain the party and government leadership within his own branch of the family has meanwhile alienated the other branch headed by Shahbaz Sharif. Those guarding the fort are thus divided among themselves, the ongoing spat between Pervaiz Rashid and Ch Nisar being the latest example.

Shahbaz Sharif is the principle target of the three parties which believe that his removal would demoralise the PML-N and its supporters and put an end to the party’s control over Punjab which provides it the clout to rule the country. Within the next few days, they are going to be supplemented by mysterious figures who have suddenly burst out on the stage as if called forth by the wand of a magician, all concentrated on Punjab chief minister’s removal.

What one sees in front of the Punjab Assembly today is a preview of the story which is to unfold in months to come, throwing light on the common objectives of PAT, PTI and PPP as well as their sharp and irreconcilable differences. All three agree on the removal of Shahbaz Sharif which they believe would unravel the PML-N. The PAT needs the support of both PPP and PTI. The PTI however is as wary of the PPP as it is of PML-N. Despite Qadri’s efforts to bring them together Imran Khan is unwilling to share the stage with Zardari. Besides the embarrassment of shaking hands with a man portrayed by him as corruption incarnate, Imran does not want PPP to regain its lost influence in Punjab. The opposition is therefore likely to remain disunited.