The PDM has shown signs of animation after nearly three months of total inaction. It met on Wednesday to discuss the plans for another round of an anti-government movement. PDM chief Fazlur Rehman launched the usual barrage of the ‘fake’ PTI government having failed on every front inside and outside the country, leaving Pakistan “globally isolated.” He maintained that Pakistan’s prestige had been dented when it was not allowed to participate in the UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan. He accused the government of hiding the facts from Parliament. The way the government treats Parliament can in fact be gauged from the current performance of the Lower House, which has failed to perform any useful business during almost a whole month as its sittings frequently ended abruptly due to lack of quorum. On Tuesday, the National Assembly failed to take up the legislative agenda due to the absence of the Cabinet members.
The PDM is apparently concerned over the announcements of mega-development schemes which have led many to conclude that the government is likely to hold early elections. As most of the funds are to be spent on projects in Karachi and interior Sindh directly by the federal government, this has sent alarm bells ringing within the PPP high command, which has reportedly offered the PML(N) the slots of PM and Punjab CM in return for jointly launching a no-confidence move. This has raised the question if government change is possible through Parliament while the establishment is still supporting the PTI? Or is the move intended only to dissuade the PTI from challenging the PPP in Sindh?
The division between the PML(N) over conciliation versus confrontation remains unresolved. The vicious attacks on each other by the PPP and PML(N) leaders before an acrimonious parting of the ways raise doubts about their having learnt from the past. It is still unclear if the PPP and ANP want to rejoin the PDM. While the legislators of the two parties interact with each other in the National Assembly and Senate, some of the PMLI(N) leaders oppose the PPP’s entry in PDM before it restores their confidence. The PPP and the parties in the PDM have to do a lot before people start taking them seriously.
