For the first time in last three years, the main opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) showed a strong reaction against the government on the issues of national importance such as drone attacks, gas and power load shedding, corruption, inflation and Raymond Davis release in the National Assembly.
The PML-N never showed any strong reaction when it was time to make things happen and when media raised the corruption scandals of the government. The PML-N was dubbed as friendly opposition. That was the proper time for the PML-N to take the people along and raise their issue forcefully in and outside the Parliament.
Now, the common man raises the question that could Mian Nawaz Sharif join 'Long March' for the restoration of judges? Why he could not do so to build pressure on the government to address the issues such as price hike, gas and power load shedding and drone attack which are purely in their interest. The masses often have said on media during their protests against the gas and power load shedding that PPP and PML-N have secretly joined hands for personal interests and to rule turn by turn.
Perhaps this role has been taken by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan and now his popularity is increasing day by day because he placed his hand on the pulse of the people and is sticking to his stance for last three years. Now, the prominent leaders of PPP and PML-N, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Makhdoom Javed Hashmi and others who did not compromise with both the mainstream parties on policy issues being their members may also support the stance of Imran Khan.
Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan delivered marathon speeches in the House in which he mentioned the issues of the people but the government took his sermons as a matter of routine. For the last three years, he did not motivate opposition members to take stock of things for resolving the issues being faced by common man. If the opposition was sincere, it could have done it earlier.
Now, for the first time, the PML-N on Wednesday raised furious slogans in the House against government on corruption, drone attacks, price hike, load shedding, Raymond Davis and other issues. Even, today (Wednesday), the PML-N members also chanted slogans against President Asif Zardari. They raised slogans "Go Zardari, Go Zardari, Dictation of foreign country is unacceptable. Foreign attacks unacceptable. America ka jo yar ha Ghaddar hay Ghaddar hay." The PML-N members created pandemonium in the House when they stood from their seats raising slogans and thumping desks which continued for more than half an hour. During the sloganeering, Acting Speaker Faisal Kareem Kundi gave the floor to Mehmood Hayat Tochi of PPP to speak on the President's address to joint sitting of the Parliament. But the members continued sloganeering during his speech too.
Now the PML-N remembers are raising these slogans when the party's popularity graph is going down due to politics of President Zardari and his negotiations with PML-Q to join the government.
The slogans continued until the Prime Minister entered the House and went straight to the seat of the Opposition leader and shook hand and exchanged a few words with him and then took his seat. Afterwards, the Opposition leader signalled the PML-N members to be quite and sit on their seats. When the Speaker gave the floor to the Opposition leader, some young parliamentarians of PPP asked to raise slogans but former Federal Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira stood up and said they should remain quite and listen to the Opposition leader.