New party on the block

The latest in our ever-growing list of political initialisms is the IPP – the Istihkam-e-Pakistan Party. Stitched together in record time, how potent is Jahangir Tareen’s newest band of disparate-and-desperate politicians? The answer depends on which side of the now-mushrooming political divides you’re standing on. For the PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the IPP is “dead on arrival”. His sentiment is shared also by some political observers, despite the fact that many PTI deserters are now part of the new ‘party’, former PTI leaders like Ali Zaidi, Imran Ismail, Aamer Mehmood Kiani, Fawad Chaudhry, Firdous Ashiq Awan and many others having joined it. It may not be the most ideal situation for these political figures – but this may have been the only home left for them, not all of the PTI’s political leaders welcome in other parties. While politics is the art of the compromise, some of those within the PTI had in their heady days of power gone on the offensive against the PML-N and PPP to such an extent that they can hardly be welcome in these parties. Among the IPP’s members are also those who may not wish to align themselves with the ruling parties and Tareen’s party – while painfully obvious in its genesis – is still a ‘safe’ option instead of joining parties that are seen as anti-PTI.

The week also saw a crystal clear message that all is not well for Imran as a politician and the PTI as a party, with the ISPR statement about the events of May 9 mincing few words regarding the rioters and the masterminds behind the attacks and riots. It was in this context that Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s meeting with the PTI chairman was seen, with reports indicating that – despite the brewing trouble – the meeting did not go well. It has become quite apparent that Imran Khan will not willingly leave his post for any of his party members regardless of the ‘signs’ that are quite visible to everyone except him. He had indicated in the past that if he were to be disqualified, Qureshi would lead his party but observers say that unless Imran is convicted or disqualified, he will not let Qureshi or anyone else assume leadership of the PTI. As far as Shah Mehmood Qureshi is concerned, he seems to be playing a waiting game. Even if, for the sake of hypotheticals, he does take over the PTI he will likely face quite a few challenges. One will be how far Imran Khan goes to put his weight behind Qureshi so that PTI voters know they have to cast their votes for the party. Another will be the PTI’s groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and whether someone like Pervaiz Khattak or Atif Khan or others would want to remain in the PTI under Qureshi’s leadership or whether they will form their own parties, groups or blocs. Of course, this all depends on whether Imran will have to unwillingly leave his party leadership to Qureshi. Those who know Imran Khan say that he will not willingly be sidelined and take a backseat like other leaders have done in the past – showing pragmatism in the face of hostility and then surviving to battle it out another day.

Which way the wind will blow cannot be said with certainty at the moment because a new party has come into being in a matter of days, in fact hours, and others are weighing in their options on what to do next once Imran Khan’s future is ‘decided’. As for the PDM parties, some observers say that Tareen’s party has been launched so that PTI deserters don’t end up joining these parties. Despite talks of seat adjustments, and the PPP’s reservations regarding the PML-N’s alleged role in the new party, there is a natural analysis that sees the IPP as the newest entity to ensure that Punjab’s politics don’t go to one party alone.