Who is former President Asif Zardari talking about when he says he was asked to offer assistance and share some formula but he told them that talks on the matter could be held after the PTI government is sent packing? This could not be the PDM or the PML(N) leadership which are presently at daggers drawn with the PTI leadership. Possibly Mr Zardari is hinting at some signals he might have received from the establishment which reportedly doesn’t know what to do with the PTI’s incompetent government, but having put all its eggs in one basket finds itself in a bind.
According to Mr Zardari, “everyone should remember that the people’s vote is ours and the time to come belongs to the PPP.” The claim is presumably meant to rouse the spirit of the PPP workers. Bu tfor a party mostly confined to Sindh with insignificant presence in other provinces, it would be too much to claim that party chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would become prime minister any time soon. During the elder Mr Zardari’s weeklong stay in Lahore in June, he failed in his mission to attract electables. Similarly, the younger Mr Zardari’s forays in South Punjab too remained unproductive. In the KP local body polls on Sunday the PPP could win only one post of Tehsil Committee Chairman out of 39.
Keeping in view the PPP’s parliamentary strength, the only way for the elder Mr Zardari to make the younger Mr Zardari PM is by hobnobbing with those who matter and wheeling dealing with Independents and the PTI’s eternally disgruntled allies. What suits him is a hung Parliament where he could indulge in give-and-take. Any government formed through these tactics will bring together parties with disparate agendas tied together solely by self-interest. This explains why the PPP led coalition government during 2008-13 failed to resolve issues that affected common people, like reduction in purchasing power, prolonged power failures and militant extremism. The party’s dismal performance brought down its appeal in various provinces, particularly in Punjab. The party policy after 2013 not to criticize the PML(N) government’s policies till the announcement of elections discouraged the diehard jialas while it failed to attract electables. Numerous prominent PPP activists either joined other parties or said goodbye to politics. The best way is for all the opposition to join hands and struggle to implement a commonly agreed agenda.
