Lahore protest: PPP, PTI want to have political standing in Punjab

ISLAMABAD: The Lahore protest intensified the battle for Punjab with every contributor of the show desperate to squeeze a large share, relegating the main player – the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) – to a trifling position.

The war will touch its zenith as the campaign for upcoming general elections will heighten. It will keep deepening in the next five months. Punjab is going to be the real political combat zone, and the fight is basically for the "Lahore throne".

The frantic efforts of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) to carve out a place in Punjab or supplement their respective existing political profiles, whatever they are, is understandable, but it is incomprehensible what political gains the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) is eyeing on the basis of this agitation because it has either stayed away from previous electoral scrambles or has fared poorly in such contests.

The PAT will be unable to augment its electoral status, if any, but its position as a militant pressure group having the wherewithal to paralyse a major city like Lahore will be reinforced by the Lahore episode. More or less, it will have the distinction of a rabble-rouser.

What the PTI dreams to translate into reality by means of this episode is beyond an iota of doubt. Immediately after the 2013 general elections that it comprehensively lost as predicted by all local and international pre-election opinion polls and surveys it has been on roads, protesting against the PML-N, with the only objective to add to its public standing. The outcome of its perpetual aggressive endeavours has been much below its expectations, which was repetitively reflected in the successive by-elections.

After facing rout in the previous polls, PTI Chairman Imran Khan took a conscious decision to focus on Punjab on the premise that victory in the majority province is the single most important factor to form government at the federal level. He employed all his histrionics and dramatics to win the battle for Punjab.

In the process, he failed to pay any heed to Karachi where his party had demonstrated a remarkable performance by clinching the largest voter getter after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

Owing to lack of attention, his position in the Sindh metropolitan has been seriously impaired, and it will not be less than a miracle if he comes out with the same tally in the next polls. He was also unable to spare much time for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to lead his provincial government to become impressive. Balochistan never figured on the list of his priorities.

PPP chief Asif Ali Zardari’s only motivation to be part of the PAT’s venture is to push out his party from the abyss in Punjab where it unprecedentedly suffered in the 2013 fight. In the interior parts of Sindh, he faces no problem having no formidable challenger. There, the PPP is likely to repeat the previous electoral results. KP does matter for him but to some extent. But Punjab is most important for Zardari and rightly so. He believed if the PPP’s participation in the PAT-sponsored protest would improve its position, he should take part in it.

The frequent visits of Zardari and Bilawal to Punjab are witness to their eagerness to resurrect the PPP in this province. The primary reason behind their consistent attacks on the Sharif brothers is to dent the PML-N’s hold over Punjab. However, their ceaseless campaign has not so far been much productive if consecutive by-polls are any guide. In some areas, the PPP did not even pick up the courage to field candidates fearing loss of face. Its utmost attempt is to significantly improve on its 2013 plight.

Under Pervez Musharraf’s umbrella, the PML-Q, which was midwifed by the dictator out of the PML-N, once ruled Pakistan for five years. However, as his patronage disappeared, it collapsed like a house of cards, which was evident in the 2013 elections. It was never a genuine political party, having a credible support base, but had been raised through artificial machinations. It evaporated the moment such schemes became irrelevant and inconsequential and overtook by hard political realities.

The PML-Q fervently hopes that it can better its electoral ranking and can get something out of the Lahore show which will pay it in any election. However, it is yet to come to grips with the harsh realities that it is no more relevant and is unexpected to revive itself.

The obvious target of all the participants of the Lahore show is the PML-N. In the good old day of the PPP, all political parties used to gang up against it in elections or even otherwise for decades.

After its marginalisation, the PML-N has taken away this place. How far the campaign, the Lahore protest being part of it, against it has actually damaged it will be manifested in the grand electoral competition.