Divided opposition alliance: Efforts on to keep PDM afloat, save it from further damage

ISLAMABAD: Hectic efforts are on to save the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) from further fissures and the key role is being played by its chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

The primary aim of the feverish consultations taking place at the top level is to find a via media that keeps the opposition alliance intact by accommodating the stands of the two conflicting sides. However, for now a middle ground is not in sight given the clear-cut line adopted by the two sides.

The sticking point behind the tension is the question of the en bloc resignations of the PDM lawmakers from the assemblies. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) steadfastly resists this option while the other PDM parties vigorously push for it.

However, two major PDM constituents – the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) -- are apparently mentally prepared to swallow the bitter pill of eventually divorcing the PPP on the grounds that more dithering by the opposition coalition on its perceived final blow to the present dispensation would further damage it.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who, for all practical purposes, is running the PML-N from London, and Maulana Fazlur Rehman are on the same wavelength and are loath to budge from their stand.

How serious the PPP is in giving a second thought to its refusal to hand down resignations is evident from its announcement to convene its central executive committee (CEC) more than two weeks later on April 4 to mull over this option. The PPP had told the PDM leaders in their last deliberations that only the decision-making forum of the party has the power to review its earlier line. This clearly shows that it is in no mood and in no hurry -- unlike Nawaz Sharif and Fazlur Rehman -- to re-evaluate its earlier decision.

A general impression shared by all and sundry is that the PPP would not go back on its previous conclusion and would not consent to quitting the assemblies as it feels that leaving the system was not at all advantageous.

However, PPP leader Chaudhry Manzoor is optimistic that a common ground would be worked out as no side wants to fritter away the huge successes and accomplishments of the PDM through its collective efforts in a short span of time.

He said that it was not right for any component party to attach conditions. “We are hopeful that the irritants would be taken care of as a result of the constant consultations that are currently in progress.”

A day after the last PDM meeting, which postponed the long march for an indefinite period because of the PPP’s refusal to tender resignations from the assemblies, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz took to micro-blogging site twitter to cryptically react. While replying to a tweet she said in a meaningful manner that she has had “no rough day at the office at all particularly when you know what’s happening & why. Tbh [to be honest], the one who should be really worried is the selected bcoz [because] he is being seen as a ‘spent force’ & his substitute is being fostered.”

She did not name the person she had taken a dig at. Other PML-N leaders also refused to identify the “substitute being fostered” but said the thinly veiled reference is self-evident. It reflected the bitterness that had gripped the PDM after the PPP stood its ground on the question of resignations.

Prime minister’s aide Dr Shahbaz Gill took notice of the tweet and said the substitute of Maryam Nawaz, and not that of Imran Khan, was not only ready but had also been launched.

However, a day later, Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari said in two tweets: “Just a reminder my father, former civilian President/man who served almost 12 years in jail without a conviction, kicked out a military dictator & brought back democracy and ensured it survived not just for his 5 year tenure but transitionally after (despite rigging). His indictment came 1 year after his 2019 jail & illegal imprisonment!! So whilst the ignorant keep bringing up deals -- what deal would have my father remain on the ECL & be consistently called to court during a pandemic (soc). That too courts in Pindi against all legal precedent (sic)” (with the insertion of an emoji that denoted a woman shrugging)

Because of the disagreement between the PPP and PML-JUI combine on one core issue, some other issues, which could have been resolved amicably in view of the harmonious relations, have also recently cropped up. They have the potential to spoil their relations further.

The nomination of the next leader of the opposition in the Senate is one of them. Prior to the fielding of Yousaf Raza Gilani as the PDM’s candidate for the Islamabad seat of the Senate, it had been agreed within the alliance that the former prime minister and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri would contest the election of the chairman and deputy chairman respectively as PDM aspirants and the opposition leader in the Upper House of Parliament would belong to the PML-N. Now, the PPP wants its nominee to fill this slot while the PML-N insists that the position should go to its representative as per the unanimous agreement.

Similarly, there is no consensus voice emerging from the PDM on the parliamentary committee proposed by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser at the behest of Prime Minister Imran Khan to suggest electoral reforms. The PML-N has turned down the initiative straightaway.

Chaudhry Manzoor said that only the PDM was competent to take a decision in this connection and no single party can do so. “However, the conduct of the incumbent speaker is the worst ever in Pakistan’s parliamentary history,” he believed.

The opposition continues to face taunts and jeers from the ruling party for “seeking an NRO” by recommending 34 amendments in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law in the previous dialogue with the government, which was held courtesy of the speaker when the legislation specific to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was discussed. The toxic experience it had at the time haunts it and is the principal impediment to responding positively to the latest overture. The proposed committee will turn out to be a non-starter if the PDM stays away from it.

The third issue that needs resolution by the PDM is the race for the NA-249 Karachi by-election. Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani has been quoted as saying that the PPP would put up its own candidate for the seat. The PML-N has sponsored former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail. The demography of this constituency has always persuaded the PML-N to vie for this seat. Its president Shahbaz Sharif was defeated by a close margin by Faisal Vawda in the 2018 general elections. Since its formation, the PDM has contested every by-election by putting up joint candidates. Will the Karachi elections amid tense relations, buck that trend too?