Ruling party shuns collision course

ISLAMABAD: The government eschewed bulldozing of its choice legislation through the joint parliamentary session so that no unnecessary tension with the opposition crops up and the hullaballoo raised over Pervez Musharraf’s departure doesn’t become too intense.

Thus, the ruling party shunned a collision course. The opposition parties had teamed up to put up a strong resistance to the official legislation. They have treated it as a good opportunity to close their ranks for a grand alliance to lambaste the government.

However, their defiance apart, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was in a comfortable majority in the joint sitting of the Senate and National Assembly to approve the important bill providing for conversion of the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) Corporation into a limited company with the objective of involving a strategic investor to push it out of dire financial straits.

The PML-N could have easily approved this bill but it opted for further discussions with the opposition in a ten-member multiparty committee. Had it got the legislation passed on the force of its clear numerical strength, it would have fueled confrontation. This would have happened at a time when the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which is not having any qualms about its own policy toward Musharraf while being in government for five years is kicking up a lot of dust on Musharraf’s exit from Pakistan.

If the postponement of the joint sitting for three weeks placated the opponents of the PIA bill for the time being, the government ducked needless pressure on the floor because of this issue and Musharraf’s leaving of Pakistan. Both sides benefited maybe for the time being.

Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq also played an important role in prodding the government and opposition to consent to an arrangement to sort out their differences. The joint session was adjourned after he presided over their joint meeting.

Leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah, who had been in the forefront in attacking the PIA bill and the government on the question of Musharraf’s going away was satisfied over the government’s response and said they had a ‘principled stand’ that was accepted and that the postponement is no side’s victory and no side’s defeat.

As the row over Musharraf’s parting aggravated, the joint session provided a handy forum to the PPP and other detractors of the government to use it for slamming the ruling party. However, its rescheduling obviated building up of the situation into a serious clash.

Who knows by the time the joint sitting will resume on April 11, the ruckus over Musharraf would die down and the opposition and others will be more preoccupied in dilating on some other issues that would emerge, occupying the national debate.

It is now the prime responsibility of both sides to seriously and sincerely work together and come out with a consensus PIA bill in a spirit of resolving the contention. It is clear that the government has no plan to kill the proposed legislation as it is in no mood or financial position to keep feeding the white elephant that has no prospects to improve.

It is prepared to give any kinds of foolproof guarantees to address the concerns of the opposition. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Umar has been quoted as saying that no PIA staff should be laid off during privatisation; the pensions and benefits of its employees should not be affected; and the treatment of the assets of the national flag carrier should be clearly defined. These are obviously genuine demands that the government ought to give a serious thought. It is required to take maximum steps to ensure the accusing opposition that the new arrangement for the national carrier is transparent and honest.

The postponement of the joint session with the mutual consent of both sides demonstrated that politicians are ready for give and take instead of sticking to their stands as dictators had been doing. It has been possible only in democracy that despite the fact that the incumbent government is very eager to privatize the PIA since long, but it could not do so in the face of the opposition’s protest. Its every effort is directed at reaching a consensus.

Previously, the PIA employees protested bringing air operations to a grinding halt. But the government used no strong-arm methods to quell the agitation. The protest came to an end as the employees could not sustain it because of different reasons one of them being the pilots’ decision to fly the planes.