Parties struggle amid rising political temperature

ISLAMABAD: The four principal political parties that are likely to have a major share in terms of seats in the next general elections, are confronted with a disparate situation as far as the unity in their ranks is concerned.

Of late, rebellious and dissenting voices have publicly emerged from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The most important among them are those of Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, MNA Noor Alam Khan, Maj (R) Tahir Sadiq and former PTI information secretary Ahmad Jawad (now expelled from the party). There are very few instances from the recent past where elected members have vented their frustration and disenchantment before their party chiefs so bluntly. At least two of these figures are unlikely to contest the next national elections on a PTI ticket.

Noor Alam Khan has been served with a show cause notice. The PTI, meanwhile, has ignored the tirades of Pervez Khattak and Tahir Sadiq. Rather, Prime Minister Imran Khan openly extolled the defence minister during his visit to Peshawar immediately after their heated exchange in the parliamentary party meeting, saying that Khattak’s decisions resulted in the development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), which would have long-lasting effects that time will prove.

Had anyone else in the PTI used the language that Khattak used he would have earned stern action. But Khattak was spared because of his political and electoral weight and relevance in KP. Just three weeks before the verbal brawl, he was made the president of the KP chapter of the PTI in the new organizational structure of the party after the old arrangement was disbanded in the wake of an embarrassing debacle in the KP local elections.

In the same parliamentary party meeting, Noor Alam had articulated his criticism of the prime minister. In a tweet later, he stated: “Why are people upset when I said put the names of front 3 rows on ECL [exit control list] and they should be made accountable for the misery of the people of Pakistan are facing, price hike of sugar, wheat flour, cooking oil, medicine, electricity, Sui Gas, petrol I will raise my voice no matter what in Parliament.”

An informed and leading Peshawar-based journalist tweeted that he has met Noor Alam who is not going to contest the next election on a PTI ticket and he is among others from KP who have taken such a decision.

On the contrary, no one from the other major political parties seems inclined to join the PTI to get its ticket. Its performance in government has disappointed many of its lawmakers. What Khattak, Noor Alam and Tahir Sadiq uttered was a reflection of the sentiments prevailing in a major section of the ruling party.

In contrast, despite facing a very hard time over the past few years, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) remains intact and no one seems to be racing away from it to obtain the sponsorship of any other political party for the next elections. This is a clear departure from its past when several of its electables had deserted it during the initial years of Pervez Musharraf’s rule. At the time, the king’s party, the PML-Q, had been carved out of the PML-N when the Sharifs were living in Saudi Arabia in exile.

However, despite its improved electoral standing, the PML-N continues to be confronted with a serious challenge and confusion caused by its conflicting narratives. Despite this disarray, deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has the final say in the party affairs and major policy decisions. Even those peddling different narratives keep asserting that they will go with his decisions. Complementing its electoral position is the newfound confidence that the PML-N is exuding for the past few months specifically after the Oct 6 development. Its top leaders have stopped finding fault with the establishment and the focus of their attack is now on the prime minister.

The position of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has recorded some improvement compared to its condition in the 2018 general elections. It too is not confronted with any desertions. Instead, some electables have joined it in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan. However, its situation in Punjab remains almost the same as it was in 2018, which does not augur well for it because any political party not showing impressive results in the majority province remains far behind in the race of forming a government at the federal level.

When the PTI had emerged, the PPP was content, concluding that Imran Khan would nibble away at the PML-N vote-bank while its own standing would remain untouched. This flawed perception fell flat when the PTI decimated the PPP in Punjab and did no harm to the PML-N, which turned out to be the single largest party in terms of federal and provincial seats in this federating unit. The PPP was reduced to a non-entity in Punjab.

The fourth important political party, the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), has significantly expanded its popular base, particularly in KP. The first phase of the local government elections in the province has demonstrated this beyond any doubt. If there have been no departures from the JUI-F, there have been no additions to it either. The unrelenting and unending anti-government campaign waged by Maulana Fazlur Rehman has paid dividends in KP as the JUI-F voters are now more mobilised.

The writer is CEO of Asian Institute of Eco-civilization Research and Development