PPP salvos against PML-N overshadow PTI

ISLAMABAD: For the first time in four years, the high-pitched verbal political battle intensely involves the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and not the PML-N and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), for a change.

While the PML-N and PPP have seriously locked horns, firing salvos at each other in a bid to inflict maximum damage, PTI Chairman Imran Khan has dubbed the fight as a stage-managed drama, his old refrain. In this sonorous fracas, he was being considered on the sidelines for some time. He called the PPP-PML-N tussle an engineered show to assert that the shouting match was not real.

From the PPP side, the main scramble is being led by its top boss, former President Asif Ali Zardari. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif once responded to it in Hyderabad two days back in his own non-aggressive style. But his lieutenants are retaliating against the PPP leaders’ attacks with the matching sound and fury. 

Since February 23 when the Supreme Court reserved its ruling on the Panama case, the PTI supremo is not much entangled in any controversy with the PML-N, as he, like all and sundry, is eagerly awaiting the judgment. He did have a serious row with the Election Commission of Pakistan, threatening to launch a campaign against it, but this threat evaporated after the electoral body quashed disqualification references against him and Jehangir Tareen.

There is a striking commonality between an assertion of Imran Khan and Zardari in one sense – both have stated that they will firm up their respective strategies after the verdict will be delivered. Not only they, but the PML-N and all political parties are holding their breath, waiting for the judicial decision. They will also then formulate their policies. Every move of all political players is to brace up for the 2018 parliamentary polls with the objective of ditching their rivals.

During the court hearings on the Panama case for weeks, senior PTI and PML-N leaders used to have fierce exchanges in their daily pressers. In this heady interlude, the PPP was not noticed because it was much away from the centre stage for not being a party to the case as per its conscious decision to refrain from agitating the Panama Papers disclosures in the apex court.

Even prior to the present intensified wrangling between the PPP and PML-N, the relations between them have not been very cordial, but they have been trading barbs. In view of their growing disputes, the PPP repeatedly announced over a year ago an end to the ‘policy of reconciliation’ with the PML-N.

Before the impending judgment, Zardari, camping in Sharifs’ political bastion, Lahore, is working hard to revive the PPP in Punjab. This is the first time that he has stayed put in the Punjab capital for many days and has no plan to leave it till he achieves his aim – recapturing its lost glory.

One of his supreme preferences is to make an alliance with his like-minded parties, which, however, are not too many. Even if some are available, they don’t have much electoral worth and weight. For obvious reasons, its electoral coalition with the PTI is ruled out. In various constituencies, candidates of different parties do make adjustments for local reasons, and the PPP and PTI nominees will not be an exception in some areas despite the gross differences of their top leaders on the national stage.

While Zardari is ensconced in Lahore for over a week having a busy schedule to put hisact together, the PPP has not received any newcomer from the ranks of any other party. There are no desertions from other political forces. He is yet to cause a commotion in other political parties.

Hitherto, the PPP chief is principally relying on the old provincial leadership in the majority province, which is yet to show its mettle in pulling the party out of the dire straits. His utmost effort is to reverse the nightmarish results, may not be totally but at least substantially, which the party faced in the 2013 general elections.

He is carefully working to have a pool of formidable candidates in all the national and provincial constituencies of Punjab in the forthcoming elections. This will be a great challenge for him, and any party that will be able to tide over it will be in a position to come out well provided its cardholders are also influential in their own right in their areas.

With this in view, Imran Khan has stated that he will now exercise extra care to personally pick up the PTI candidates for the next polls contrary to the last time when he had to select the contestants in haste.