ISLAMABAD Pakistan Muslim League- Quaid (PML-Q) pocketed 126 seats of the National Assembly, unbelievable it seems and rightly so. But that was in the 2002 general election while in 2013 polls, this party could hardly bag 02 NA seats and hence has almost been kicked out of the political arena. What a contrast: PML-Q, which is on the list of Election Commission of Pakistan ‘registered’ as Pakistan Muslim League, was in power only six years back and it faces almost total extinction in such a short period. It can be aptly termed as the nemesis of an artificially created political entity. Though, following 2008 elections, PML-Q was able to retain some pride by bagging 54 seats. It is believed that since PML-Q was formed out of necessity by a military ruler, mostly consisting of ‘electables’, who rallied round Musharraf to satiate their lust for power. Does the party have the ability or capacity to bounce back? After the stunning performance of PML-N that bagged 124 NA seats in the May 11 elections, political pundits are not optimistic about the resurgence of PML-Q. PML-N is most certainly going to form government in the Centre during the current month. Eleven years back, PML-N could get 19 seats in the lower house of parliament in 2002 elections and then performed very well in next polls held in 2008 by winning 91 NA seats. The Retired General Pervez Musharraf, who created PML-Q to perpetuate his rule and thus was able to be the absolute ruler of Pakistan for about nine years, finds himself in real hot water. He is today under house arrest at his fort-like farm house on the outskirts of the federal capital. What else has fate in store for him is yet to be seen, however his former party seems to have no future. Musharraf faces multiple charges that include his alleged key role in the assassination of PPP leader Ms Benazir Bhutto, murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti, incarcerating judges of superior judiciary and suspension of the Constitution.
PML-Q had its hey day under the patronage of Musharraf. It had three prime ministers-Mir Zafarullah Jamali, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Shaukat Aziz-in its five-year stint. Not only in the Centre, PML-Q had its governments in Sindh, Khyber Pakhunkhwa and Balochistan with some coalition partners. Today, the overwhelming majority of its stalwarts, the Musharraf loyalists, has manipulated to go to greener pastures of PML-N. One of them is Amir Muqam, who was so close to the former military ruler that he was gifted personal pistol for safety. Several former ministers and legislators belonging to PML-Q became part of PML-N prior to the elections while others have aligned with it following May 11. PML-Q’s electoral performance is so dismal that smaller parties such as Pakistan Muslim League-Functional and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party have bagged more NA seats than the former ruling party: For instance, PML-F (05), PkMAP (03) and Jamaat-e-Islami (O3) are ahead of it. The pity is that no media person is interested to discuss PML-Q: even its electoral performance.
