Strange bedfellows
by
Javed Hafiz |
Law Minister Babar Awan’s dramatic meeting in Lahore with former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Perwaiz Elahi has created quite a political stir. Their parties, the PPP and Muslim League (Q), have been poles apart for decades. Soon after Benazir’s demise, Zardari called this party “Qatil” or killer League. In a letter written a few days before her death, Benazir had stated that Chaudhry Perwaiz Elahi would be one of the suspects in case she was killed. What made those mutual suspicions and antipathy fade away and made this meeting possible?
Indeed the Bhutto and Chaudhry families have been at daggers drawn since the 1970s. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Chaudhry Shujat’s father, Zahoor Elahi did not like each other one bit. Elder Bhutto had Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi placed behind the bars on a fake charge of stealing buffaloes! Political enmities can lead to bizarre episodes. When Bhutto was sentenced to death by the Lahore High Court in 1978, Zahoor Elahi requested the judges to gift him the pen used by them to sign the judgment. He would proudly show this pen to his friends. How dirty and cruel the power game can get!
The Muslim League (Quaid) was a break away faction of Nawaz Sharif’s League. It was cobbled by Musharraf for his political support. Since political parties in Pakistan are weak, they are subject to frequent re-alignments. Opportunists essentially have their own interests in mind while taking political decisions. Even now the PML (Q) is split at the centre and in Punjab. Political heavy weights like Khursheed Kasuri, Salim Saifullah Khan and Humayun Akhtar Khan have set up their own group. They are not happy with the dynastical party leadership symbolised by the Chaudhries of Gujrat. However, some solid political stalwarts like Mushahid Hussain are still with PML (Q).Those who change political parties often are called ‘lotas’. This taunt inhibits frequent changing of political loyalties.
Votes in Pakistan are broadly divided into two categories; pro-Bhutto and anti-Bhutto. The Muslim Leagues and right-wing parties essentially bank on anti-Bhutto vote. We have seen, with a lot of interest, recent moves to unify the Leagues. This unification does not suit the PPP. Anti-Bhutto vote has increased over the years, particularly in Punjab. If the Leagues get united, PPP victory in the largest province becomes very difficult. Therefore, it has a vested interest in keeping the Leagues divided. That would also insure that Nawaz Sharif’s power base remains “manageable” for the PPP.
Musharraf’s exit has made PML (Q) a political orphan. Such contrived political entities constantly require government support to survive. In the opposition role, they feel like fish out of water and become politically irrelevant. In such a situation, it becomes quite difficult to keep all the members together as they had joined hands to enjoy the perks of power, to begin with. The other day 48 dissident members of PML (Q) in the Punjab assembly issued a statement in Lahore that they stood solidly behind Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. There are cracks in this political entity contrived by a military ruler to serve his interests.
The PPP move was motivated by multiple objectives. First and foremost, it was sick and tired of the MQM attitude. An ally in the coalitions in Islamabad and Karachi, MQM has become the ruling party’s headache. Last year it refused to support the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) on moral grounds. This year, it introduced a bill in the parliament for land reform. A number of PPP members of the parliament have a feudal background. Some months ago, Altaf Hussain pleaded with the “patriotic generals” for a national government. For almost a year now, the MQM is embroiled in bloody political feuds in Karachi and threatens to quit the government every other day. By trying to court the PML (Q) the PPP gave them a message a message to “behave” or otherwise alternative partners were available.
The second aim was to stop the Muslim League unification efforts in their tracks. After this move, the trust deficit between Nawaz Sharif and the Chaudhries of Gujrat has widened. In fact, the other day Sharif said that no real unification of the political party was possible in the presence of the Chaudhries and Sheikh Rasheed. Of late, Nawaz Sharif has realised that closeness to PPP could be a political kiss of death at the next elections. Therefore, he has started distancing himself from the PPP leadership. Both PPP and PML are vulnerable as they head coalition governments in Islamabad and Lahore, I see lots of political posturing and manipulation in days to come. All political parties of any consequence have their eyes on the elections.
There is a lot of opposition in both PPP and the PML (Q) to any political understanding with each other right now. They are very different political entities. Despite blurring of the ideological distinctions in political parties, these two parties differ in substance and style. They will need time and plenty of coaxing before jumping into the bed. For now, they look like strange bedfellows.
(Javed Hafiz is Pakistan’s former ambassador to the Sultanate) |
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