Uncertainty prevails as Panama Leaks issue lingers on

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Influential cabinet ministers, political and media brains of the ruling PML-N went through intense brainstorming session on Thursday. The goal, still unrealised, is to chalk out a political strategy with minimum erosion on moral front in the Panama Leaks days. This is a time when their less informed legislators anxiously sit in Parliament hoping the political storm withers away, sooner than later.

Though every other treasury legislator would ostensibly put up a brave face these days for obvious reasons, in private conversations, however, majority of them believes these are testing times of political polarisation and Panama Papers is a catalyst. The same was evident on the second last day of the current National Assembly session, Thursday which was politically dull for most part, but suddenly came alive in the last hour. And credit goes to the young lot of PTI legislators who keep on repeating famous sound bytes of their chief, or churn out some popular sentences they utter in television talk shows, almost on daily basis. Ali Mohammad Khan, Shehryar Afridi, or for that matter more sentimental Murad Saeed are such examples. This, at times, makes Speaker and Deputy Speaker’s work challenging and daunting, as their nerves are tested to the maximum. Speaker Ayaz Sadiq is calculated, a cool customer, most of the time. His Deputy, Murtaza Abbasi, exhibits some rough edges, at times. Not long ago, the gentleman had to seek apology from opposition legislators having walked out in protest for remarks he hurled at them. But job nature of deputy speaker makes him a bad cop under instructions from treasury, though he has to act neutrally as per job description. At the end of Thursday’s session, Mr Abbasi blew hot and cold as every other opposition member, especially the PTI lot who would start their respective point of order with some national or constituency related issue, but end on criticising Premier Sharif on disclosures related to Panama Papers. Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Interior Minister’s bitter rival from Taxila, led from the front, this day. A former PML-Q minister having landed in the National Assembly on PTI ticket, Sarwar wanted Premier Sharif to grace the Parliament and explain his stand point to the legislators who had elected him. A large contingent of PTI’s ‘moral brigade’, aided by a tiny PPP amalgam of old and new lot, churn out this mantra day in and out, now. As a matter of fact, even if the premier had wanted to do the same, some advisers thought otherwise. They could guess, opposition led by PPP and PTI won’t let go such a golden chance to agitate, or even encircle the premier asking him to resign, then and there. Keeping all these safeguards in mind, Premier’s address to the nation was the final resort adopted. But, the handling of joint sitting coverage spoke very poor of the media managers, as information minister shifted onus to speaker, and vice versa.

That said, saner, politically mature voices in the ruling party folds now advise the top ministerial tier and Premier Nawaz Sharif’s kitchen cabinet, not to delay Panama Papers related judicial commission. More delays, they feel, would only consolidate opposition’s stand point, politically and morally. The big question that still remains unsettled in the power tier is whether to go for a judicial commission of their own choosing, meet PTI Chief Imran Khan’s demand of top judges led commission or find a middle ground. Pros and cons of any such eventuality are there to bear. With Premier away from the country for days to come, feeling heat of the situation Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif finally landed in the capital for consultations. For reasons, the younger Sharif remained silent on Panama Leaks related allegations hurled on elder Sharif’s sons and daughter.

During Imran-Qadri Dharna days, politically aloof Chaudhrys of Gujrat collaborated with Dr Qadri. They were taken aback when Dr Qadri decided to wind up the show abruptly as the establishment refused to play ball. With PML-Q shrinking day by day, Chaudhrys wait in the wings to bounce back. And Panama Leaks is a “God gifted” opportunity, Ch Pervaiz Elahi tells media, tongue in cheek. Imran feels the same way, and Senator Sirajul Haq might echo the same sentiments if Dr Qadri is not around for the planned Raiwind march. For now, pressure and interest groups within the three major political parties – PML-N, PPP and PTI -- are up against one another to carve out a favourable situation at a time of extreme political polarisation. Take PPP’s case. A majority of its legislators, powerful ministers from Sindh, want continuity. Any political adventurism, they feel, would be counter productive and only favour Imran Khan’s PTI, overall.

It was their insistence, coupled with the political shrewdness of former president Asif Zardari, the PPP won’t join ranks with PTI for agitation or seek Premier Sharif’s resignation. Senate Opposition Leader Aitzaz Ahsan would not be a happy man. Part of the elite group that surrounds youthful chairman Bilawal B Zardari, the old guard is still hopeful of an unlikely PPP-PTI cooperation. PTI is a different ball game. On aggressive defence since 2014 Dharna failure, they are alive again. The youthful party lot from lower middle class to upper middle class backgrounds, sincerely believe in party chief Imran Khan’s political rhetoric as the last word. More experienced lot goes with the flow. The wealthy lot of plotters and planners keeps on looking towards the powers that be for some favourable gesture/signal. Nothing doing, for now. Till then, they continue to score points during lows of PML-N till Jahangir Khan Tareen comes up with some good news, naturally from the powers that be. Till then, no body will take Sheikh Rashid’s television rating-friendly sentences/overtures seriously. Or for that matter some PTI leaning TV anchors who would like to paint a doomsday everyday, starting at 8:00pm with everything returning to normal by 10:00pm, the same day.

For now, Shah Mahmood Qureshi is leading from the front, gathering likeminded forces to take on PML-N for the much dreaded Dharna-2. But much to his disappointment, he finds PPP a reluctant player on this count, for obvious reasons.