Late Thursday evening when Hamid Nasir Chattha was reassuring his party boss, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, of his loyalty in front of media persons, some half a dozen members of the party's so-called forward bloc were having dinner with the co-chairman of PPP, President Asif Zardari.
Chattha insisted there was no revolt against Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain who, he said, would continue as the PML (Q) president till June next year when the latter's second term concludes. To this, the Chaudhry nodded 'yes', but thought 'rather than going into party politics we should focus on the devastation caused by the earthquake in Balochistan'.
The impression of business-as-usual given at the news conference was warranted to dispel the growing speculation that the unity of the PML (Q) was on the rocks. A salient feature of the speculation, that still persists, was that most of the leaders in the PML (Q), particularly whose who have seats in the parliament and provincial legislative houses, want the Chaudhrys of Gujrat to hand over the party leadership to others.
Riaz Fatyana, an MNA from southern Punjab, and Hamid Nasir Chattha were believed to be the moving spirit behind the manoeuvre against the Chaudhrys - while the former acted openly, the latter acted behind the scene. The leader of the guests at the dinner in the Presidency was Riaz Fatyana. Historically, when out of power the Muslim Leaguers are like fish out of water, tossing about restlessly to get back to the pond.
Given the feudal background of most of them, they tend to gravitate to power centres. Quite a few of them have secure constituencies and when elected they invariably end up in the king's party. They stay in the power corridors till the 'king' lasts, and when he vacates they set out in search of a new king. The same happened to the Chaudhry-led PML (Q) when General Pervez Musharraf had to quit consequent to his party's electoral defeat in the February elections.
Since that debacle the elected members of the PML (Q) are in political wilderness, as their search for the next king has not yet succeeded. As their (bad) luck would have it, the elections have thrown up a complicated electorate mandate, in which instead of one there are two kings in the field. One sits in Islamabad and his name is Asif Ali Zardari, the other, the Sharifs, rule from Lahore. How to deal with this abnormality? The answer to the question has divided the PML (Q).
Of the options available to the PML (Q) members, three merit mention. First, the PML (Q) should merge or unify, depending upon the legal position, with the Sharifs-led PML (N). Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his pragmatic colleagues are for unification.
An unmistakable clue to this sentiment was given recently when Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan who leads opposition in the National Assembly, strongly condemned the Sindh government for nominating (by implication) PML (Q) stalwart Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in a fresh FIR in the Karsaz bomb blast incident.
The pro-unification section of the PML (N) believes that together they can fully secure the Muslim Leaguers' hold over Punjab, as well as neutralise Governor Salmaan Taseer who wants to convert the province into a bastion of PPP. But the party chief, Nawaz Sharif, is not willing to shake hands with the Chaudhrys who strengthened the rule of President Musharraf, his nemesis, and even pledged to elect the general "in uniform for 10 terms".
There are no such reservations from the Chaudhrys' side and knowledgeable sources say just a phone call from any of the Sharifs or even by any of their trusted colleagues would clear the road for unification. The second option available to the PML (Q) members is to split up into 'forward blocs and join the government in the Centre as well as in Punjab, depending upon the like-mindedness of the respective sides.
A PML (Q) forward bloc is already co-operating with Shahbaz Sharif, giving the numbers he needs to stay in power. Another forward bloc of the PML (Q) appears to be in cahoots with the PPP leadership. The third option is that the party should retain its independence and not join others and meanwhile prepare for the next elections. Will this thinking survive what Pervaiz Elahi calls the "ministry virus", only time will tell.
However, a bleak situation besets the king's party. Ironically, at this juncture in the country's political history, the PML (Q), notwithstanding its unsavoury reputation, can help promote the democratic process - in an ironic manner. By joining the PPP in the Centre and the PML (N) in Punjab it would help the ruling coalitions in strengthening their positions and thus pave the way for politics to move in the direction of two-party system.
And if it withstands the forces working for its disintegration and survives as a united entity or nearly that, it would have improved its image that will help it in the next elections. Then there is the constitutional roadblock to floor crossing which is applicable to the forward blocs. The PML (Q) has arrived at the fork; where to go from there is its leaders' dilemma.
Comments
Comments are closed.