The PTI problem

A meeting of parliamentary leaders on Wednesday sans representatives of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) took the expected decision. The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif concluded that demands to expel the PTI’s elected representatives from the National Assembly would be rejected. Speaking after the meeting, Sharif said that the government welcomed the PTI MNAs in parliament, but also said that they should accept the Judicial Commission’s inquiry report that cleared all charges of systematic rigging in the May 2013 elections. The meeting was attended by opposition leader Khursheed Shah and representatives of the ANP, the JUI-F and the MQM. On Tuesday, the PTI was pushed into a corner in the National Assembly as the JUI-F and MQM moved motions to de-seat PTI MNAs. With the PTI still maintaining that the Judicial Commission report be made public to expose election irregularities, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had taken them on in the NA telling the party to accept the verdict of the Judicial Commission and move on. The government has already accepted that there are structural problems with the mechanism of conducting elections and new election reforms are already on the cards.
The PTI’s problem is that it has almost left itself with no cards to play after putting all its hopes into a favourable verdict. While it is correct for the PTI to demand the JC report be made public, some of its members have continued to claim ‘foul play’ behind the so-called clean chit offered by the inquiry. The PPP’s Khursheed Shah is said to have played a key role in diffusing the mounting tensions between the PTI and all other political parties. PTI leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Arif Alvi have complained that the PTI has been kept away from a meeting that was to discuss its fate. But that was perhaps for the better. There needs to be an agreement to keep the system going and the PTI needs to play a critical role after having its key demands met and claims rejected. It is clear that the resolutions in parliament were nothing more than a pressure tactic designed to embarrass the PTI. The PM’s message to the PTI is clear: no more road shows, and accept the system with its flaws. Backchannel efforts for a meeting between the PM and PTI chairman Imran Khan are already underway. Common ground must be found to make the system work better in the future.