EDITORIAL: Thanks to the patronage politics and double speak of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s (PML-Q’s) father-son (Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi-Moonis) duo the national politics tends to acquire the stigma of byzantine politics.
Given their party’s veto weightage in the Punjab Assembly, their words and moves leave both sides of the national political divide enriched with hope and torn with despair. Their principal ally in the house, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), is at times confident that when time comes they would stand with it by dissolving the Punjab Assembly. But then comes Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi’s remark that the Punjab Assembly will “continue the same way for next four months, till March”.
He has also expressed reservations about the Election Commission of Pakistan’s move to remove Imran Khan as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman following the latter’s disqualification in the Toshakhana reference.
The duo also stoutly defends the positivity of their contacts with the then COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa, much to the chagrin of PTI leadership whose Senator Ijaz Chaudhry has accused the father-son combine of switching over to the “doctrine of necessity”.
He says the Chaudhrys’ statements do not sit comfortably with the PTI workers, supporters and voters, only to receive their edict of being a “thankless” person, for it was CM Pervaiz Elahi who got him elected as Senator unopposed. On the other front, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is at times fearful that the only weapon Imran Khan is left with is his move to seek dissolution of the Punjab Assembly.
But then there is Asif Zardari, who is widely known for his dexterity in the art of making and breaking coalitions. Not only has he ruled out the dissolution of Punjab Assembly, he has also promised an in-house change that would stitch a PDM-PML-Q rapprochement and form government.
In this connection, he is trying to help remove the differences between the Chaudhry brothers by coaxing Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to ask his six MPs in the assembly to rejoin chief minister Pervaiz Elahi. That done Pervaiz Elahi will not only keep his post but the PDM will also come to power in the country’s largest province in terms of population. He says the then chief minister Usman Buzdar was an ‘utter disaster’ – a remark that doesn’t sit well with Imran Khan who defended his nominee even at the risk of annoying the military leadership at that time.
Now the question is how the byzantine politics will ultimately play out? Of course some contacts have been made. President Arif Alvi, for example, has been called upon to help discover a common ground on ticklish issues between the political contenders and the PTI-Establishment equation. On the face of it, there is not much to pin hopes on this backdoor approach. So, as the stalemate persists there has got to be an out-of-the-box solution, and for that the onus lies with Imran Khan.
It is he who has to comprehend and accept that ‘politics is the art of the possible’, and hopefully that message will ultimately sink into his mind. Today’s Pakistan is in the throes of an economic ‘crisis’ that is breeding, among other ills, biting inflation. Politicians from the two sides of the aisle are therefore requested to move out of ego-centric grooves and give up on their self- serving dreams. And the ball for that is in Imran Khan’s court.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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