PDM agenda

The now moth-eaten PDM has at its session on Saturday said that it found no time to discuss the issue of the PPP and ANP’s return to the alliance. The hour-long meeting took up issues including electoral reform and rejected the government’s plan for this, which focuses mainly on the use of EVMs. In addition, the parties making up the PDM decided that a new set of protests against the government would begin in July. It is not clear if the purpose is to try and overthrow the government -- which seems to be showing no apprehension over the PDM actions, especially as the group has now been weakened by the exit of the PPP and the ANP. The PDM must also overcome an apparent rift which divides the PML-N. Mian Shahbaz Sharif and Mian Nawaz Sharif appear to be following somewhat different lines, with Shahbaz having already expressed reservations regarding the break up with the PPP and in traditional fashion also called for dialogue and discussion with the government and possibly other stakeholders.

The key question however is what the PDM hopes to achieve. Resignations from the assemblies could have some impact on the stability of the existing system, but are unlikely to benefit the alliance itself. The PML-N has shown strength in the recent by-elections and it would be going against good sense for it to pull out of electoral politics at this point, so close before the next general election. Local bodies polls are also approaching. The question then is what the PDM seeks. While the JUI-F has formidable street power, without the PPP it is not backed by any other party which can bring people on the streets, and it is unlikely that its actions will shake the government or create any semblance of change. This is especially true as the PTI setup seems determined to follow its own route and direction. The alliance of opposition parties must decide where it is to head from this point onwards. The loss of the PPP and ANP obviously weaken it and perhaps Shahbaz Sharif’s suggestion that the rift within the grouping needs to be patched over should be taken more seriously. Only if the alliance is able to act together would it have any meaning. In its current form, there is little sign that it can change the course of national politics in any fashion.

As experienced politicians, the leaders of the PDM are expected to be working on a strategy that has some definite goal. Without defining this goal, random protests and actions, or a refusal to join in discussions on electoral reforms, will lead nowhere. It is quite obvious that Pakistan’s election system needs amendment and repair work which cannot be achieved if the opposition decides to simply stay away from talks on the matter. The question of the PPP and ANP will obviously crop up again, and the divide within the PML-N will also surface in the coming months. We then wait to see the next course of events and if any of them can shake what appears to be a solidly entrenched government.