As Pakistan’s politics play themselves out, governance is nowhere to be seen

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) political party of Imran Khan and the multi-party ruling coalition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) are sticking to their respective positions and several rounds of talks between the two sides have failed. Now, the country’s political situation is likely to enter a new phase after Friday, when Khan has announced he will dissolve the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The top leadership of the PTI has already decided to start the dissolution process from Punjab, which will be followed by KP. On the other hand, the Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz, (PML-N), has started preparations to receive its supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, who has been in London for over three years. He will hold party conventions in many important cities to prepare the party for the next elections. 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s son, Suleman, has already reached Pakistan after four years of self-exile in London. Simultaneously, the PML-N is making all possible efforts to get its arch-rival Khan disqualified from electoral politics.  The removal of the cricketer-turned-politician as PTI Chairman is a big target set by the PML-N.  

For this purpose, petitions are pending with the courts as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan. In case Khan is disqualified, the political scene of Pakistan will witness a drastic change. It is no secret that Khan alone is the leader keeping the party popular and united. If he is disqualified, the party will experience a serious setback, a situation that will provide the ruling PDM ample cause to celebrate.

For the past four years, Nawaz Sharif stands disqualified from any public office and cannot head the party. His brother Shehbaz Sharif is leading the PML-N only because of the apex court’s verdict against his elder brother. 

It goes without saying that at present, the PDM parties cannot afford to go for fresh elections. They have not been able to give relief to the masses that can win them support in the polls. 

Khan on the other hand remains most popular, and parties in the PDM are afraid of being politically cannibalized if elections are held in the prevailing situation.

In case the Punjab Assembly is dissolved this week, the PML-N will make it difficult to find a caretaker chief minister acceptable to both sides. 

Ashraf Mumtaz

At present, all eyes are focused on Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi. His party has only 10 seats in the 371-member Punjab Assembly. He is in the driving seat only because of support being extended by 180 MPAs of the PTI. 

He has repeatedly assured Khan through media talks that he will dissolve the assembly once the PTI chairman tells him to drop the axe. However, personally, he is opposed to the dissolution plan unless there are firm assurances about the next elections.  He said in a recent interview that the provincial legislature will not be dissolved in the next few months. Naturally, he wants to complete important development projects launched by his government in the province to be able to pocket their political benefits at the polls. 

The PML-N is said to be willing to ‘adopt’ Elahi as the next chief minister if he parts ways with the PTI. For the time being, the leader from Gujrat is in no mood to join hands with the Sharifs’ party. However, as they say, everything is fair in love and war.

In case the Punjab Assembly is dissolved this week, the PML-N will make it difficult to find a caretaker chief minister acceptable to both sides. In case of a lack of consensus, the matter will go to the Election Commission, a body that is regarded a strong supporter of the PML-N and an opponent of the PTI. 

Unfortunately, neither side is taking notice of the price the country is paying because of the continuous conflict between the government and the opposition. What is happening on the political scene has destroyed the professionalism of all institutions. They have become sycophants, trying to keep ‘the bosses’ happy at any cost. 

The attitudes of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) offer good examples. When the PTI was in power, these institutions were working against the Sharifs. They added their voices to any allegation levelled against them, accusing them of involvement in laundering billions of rupees. 

But now that the PTI is out of power and the PML-N president is the prime minister, the very same institutions are portraying the same culprits as saints, clearing them of all charges one after the other. 

Since political parties are using all their energies to firm up their grip on power, the performance of the country's most important institutions is going down the drain.

— The writer is a senior and veteran journalist with a career spanning 40 years with major national and international newspapers.