Spotlight: Vicious war of words between PTI and PML(N) will hurt both but hurt PTI more Will the next govt be a PPP-PML(N) coalition!?

We do not believe in being pessimistic. But tell us: At this point in time do you see any cheer in the goings on in the country in its entire length and breadth?
Is anything happening by way of improving things be it the power situation driving unemployment up and forcing millions into starvation, or be it scams surfacing at the rate of one a week or more, or be it the lifestyle of our rulers, or be it the disconnect between the rulers and the common people like you and me, or be it the government's policy of obstructing the Judiciary at every point in the latter's efforts to punish wrongdoers and protect victims, or be it promotion of the corrupt by the rulers and sidelining of honest officials by the rulers or be it the newly popular Media prima donna, the TV Channels encouraging promiscuity (undiscriminating sexual behaviour or not differentiating right from wrong in that area) driven by their greed for more big money through bigger viewership) with no control exercised by the state apparatus or watchdog bodies, or be it daily murders on the streets of Karachi with the police role confined to delivering bodies from the site of the crime to hospitals and telling us how many empty shells of what caliber were found on the scene of the crime or be it businessmen shuttering up every other day in fear of life or financial ruin at the hands of the Bhatta Mafia yet getting killed or looted every day. Shall we go on?
No visible move
Mind you we are not suggesting that these problems could be resolved instantly. On the other hand, we would have been content, even happy to see a serious move, however small, towards solving them. Our grouse is that no corrective effort is visible even on the smallest scale in the direction required. On the contrary what we have is an across the board fall towards further deterioration so rapid that something had to give. And this is what is precisely happening with security of life and limb and security of one's property giving place to murders, loot and arson as a routine, daily occurrence.
The political scene And what about the goings on in the political arena? Will the general elections provide any relief? Not much cheer there either. Hopes for a stable government emerging from the imminent general elections are receding fast. PPP is in tatters after the most dismal performance in memory by any government. PMLN under Nawaz Sharif has made no serious effort to make inroads into provinces other than Punjab and will suffer thereby. The party chief has divided his time between junkets abroad and only on again off again political activity at home. Imran Khan made a big splash by his clean image and hugely attended rallies in major cities and by his adoption of policy postures and declarations finding an echo in the hearts and minds of millions across the country. But by targeting PMLN as his main political adversary he has let PPP off the hook and in turn invited equally vicious attacks by PMLN leaders he could do without. In any case his youngish (at least in the context of general elections) party will be up against formidable election-wise and campaign-wise juggernauts of PMLN and PPP - the latter allegedly with tons of corruption money which could be handy for buying or otherwise influencing votes.
PTI and PML-N in nasty brawl At the weekend the ongoing brawl (tell us if you have a better word for it) between an established political entity, PMLN, and an emergent one, PTI, degenerated into an embarrassing display of bad manners - hardly a political give-and-take! Although the ongoing war between the two parties is not new, it turned into a nasty exchange with Khawaja Asif of PML-N alleging that "Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan lost a huge amount of money which was donated to his social welfare hospital, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, in a real estate gamble". That appeared to have touched a raw Imran nerve and he came back with a counter attack with no holds barred. For a start he recalled with bitterness that an earlier attack on the working of his cancer hospital by Nawaz Sharif had dried up the flow of funds for a period making it difficult for the Hospital to continue its charitable work and a special campaign had to be launched to restore funding. That was okay as a rejoinder but he did not stop there and came back with a dozen allegations of wrongdoing by Nawaz Sharif and family including massive corruption, loan defaults, money laundering and misuse of government funds for his "Raiwind Empire". Again, we are sorry to comment, Imran did not stop there either and thought fit to attack on Sharifs' family life. He also spoke in very derogatory terms about Chaudhry Nisar, calling him a servant of Nawaz Sharif and one far below his own social level. All in all, a very poor response to Khawaja Asif's attack! One fond of putting so much ginger in one's attacks on political opponents should have been able absorb some ginger in return without losing cool.
Unwise provocation, reckless reaction As for the normally suave and reasonable Khawaja, he should have reflected on the fact that his allegations were based on data available on the SKMH Cancer Hospital's website and not on any so far hidden information dug out by him or anyone else. So a mala fide intention on the part of the SKCH management could be ruled out. Under the circumstances it could perhaps (we are not sure at this point in time) be considered to a case of an irregularity ("real estate gamble" Asif called it) indulged in with the best of intentions for the benefit of the hospital. Coming at this fund collection time (month of Ramazan) the attack reminded Imran, as we said above, of the earlier occasion this had happened and had hurt Hospital funding and growth prospects. Had Imran taken this attack in his stride and not blown it up by his wayward response it would have been much better for him and his party. There is a lot of public sympathy for his contribution to the cause of health, especially for the poor and the allegation would not have had a significant impact if responded to with a simple clarification. For example we can cite the example of the appeal by All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran to all the political parties, including the PML-N, to not to politically victimise welfare institutions like the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital rendering "great services to cancer patients".
Post-general elections scenario What about other parties? Presently, all the allies of PPP are dissociating themselves from any responsibility for the disastrous power situation by criticising PPP for failure on that front despite having been partners in power all the time. PMLQ which got a new lease of life as a result of the NILC case will probably disappear into insignificance as a political entity following the elections. TIP's onslaught against Nawaz Sharif could well push PMLN into a closer embrace with PPP. They have never been far apart during the half decade now coming to a close. They may well resort to sly seat adjustments especially in Punjab to ensure that a split vote for the benefit of Imran Khan does not materialise. That in turn could lead to "the impossible": a coalition government of PPP-PMLN. The PTI chief has vowed that if his party failed to win enough seats to form a government it would not enter into a ruling coalition with any party or parties presently in power and would sit in the opposition.
The smaller parties Among relatively smaller parties ANP is likely to come off very poorly due to its dismal record in the Pakhtunkhwa province. JUI-F's Maulana Fazl has repeatedly lost credibility by losing no opportunity to change political postures for some immediate gain but still commands a following among Madrassah educated people. However his faction of JUI is unlikely to get many seats if it goes solo into the elections and may therefore try to enter into seat adjustment arrangements with so-called secular parties. An alliance of so called religious parties on the pattern of MMA does not appear to be on the cards due to Maulana Fazal's frequent shenanigans. Jamaate Islami despite the setback in Karachi due to MQM avalanche and tense atmosphere in the city, has a scattered but dedicated following across the country (except perhaps in Balochistan) and can be a major asset for a bigger party - Tehrike Insaf or PMLN for example - if a principled alliance based on a clear agenda emerges.
Murders in Karachi and loadshedding These will surely figure resoundingly in the next elections. In Karachi Bhatta extortions have become such a routine that every other day markets are shuttered down in protest. "Taken notice" statements at the latest outrage by President Zardari, Malik Rehman or CM Sindh are a subject of much fun except that the bereaved or looted families are exposed to untold suffering and resulting downturn in business activity is making life difficult for people in the metropolitan city with consequences spreading across the country. It is strange to see all three coalition partners in the Sindh Government lamenting the horrific security situation and blaming each other as responsible yet continuing in the coalition to continue to enjoy all kinds of "privileges" under the sun!
([email protected])