EDITORIAL: First things first. The 11-party opposition alliance - Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) - has ruled out talks with the government. PDM convener Maulana Fazlur Rahman has asked the establishment to move aside from the way of people or else there could be massive unrest in the country because of obvious reasons. That was perhaps the gist of what PDM leaders said at their power show at Lahore's Minar-e-Pakistan on Sunday. Yesterday, PDM extended an "ultimatum" to government, asking it to quit by Jan 31, 2021. Two days before their much-hyped rally in Punjab's capital, Chairman Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz at her Jati Umra residence. Bilawal offered condolences on Maryam's grandmother's recent demise, but the real significance of this meeting lay elsewhere. For one, the meeting took place on the eve of PDM's Lahore rally at Minar-e-Pakistan on December 13, 2020. Second, this meeting and the joint efforts of the two young leaders of the two main political parties in the PDM reflect the transition to the next dynastic generation. This generation does not carry the burden of the past differences and collisions between their elders. And their rapport seems to offer the opposition benefits in the PDM campaign as well as better relations between their respective parties in the future. In fact Bilawal has already instigated a discussion within PDM on the PPP's electoral alliance with the PML-N and even Maulana Fazlur Rehman regarding this idea and the benefits accruing to all the component parties in the next election, but especially the PPP if it sacrifices its Sindh government through the en masse resignations of parliamentarians on the PDM's agenda. Of course only time will tell whether such an electoral alliance becomes a reality and what it offers. For the moment, in the increasing heat of the PDM campaign, Bilawal categorically ruled out PDM creating a situation where the 'third force' may intervene. Of course, there is much history to peruse in Pakistan's past regarding such a development, and the track record does not inspire total confidence that such a scenario can be categorically ruled out. However, the nature of the 'intervention', if it comes, is debatable. It is unlikely a direct military takeover would be viable in today's international climate. With the possible exception of all-weather friend China, Pakistan could find itself bereft of the aid and loans on which it still crucially depends from bilateral and multilateral sources. An indirect intervention is of course already the stuff of the opposition's critique, dubbing the 2018 elections manipulated if not rigged in order to bring a 'selected' prime minister to power. This does not mean the establishment is incapable of changing course in the face of a crisis that renders the present plans unsustainable. But there are no signs of that so far. The government's recent offer of talks (including by Prime Minister Imran Khan) appears to reflect some nervousness in the power corridors. However, qualified as the offer is by the government's usual rhetoric about 'No NRO', etc. it nonetheless throws up an opportunity for the opposition to grab it with both hands. That the opposition has stepped up its pressure on the government is a fact. It needs to speak from a position of strength, not of arrogance. Not only will an opposition-government dialogue effectively forestall 'third force's' intervention, it will possibly lead to a revisit of government's 'No NRO' rhetoric. The country cannot afford any protracted period of political instability. The situation, in fact, underscores the need for reprising a high economic growth, which will need, among other things, greater political stability.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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