Instead of the PTI, it is the PPP. Is this the moment of implosion? It is not another May 9, for no one in the PPP is accused of anything, but there is a very public clash between PPP chief Asif Zardari and his son and co-Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, where the former has supported the ECP by saying that delimitations must take place before elections and the latter has said that while he was bound to the former in home matters, he was bound to the party and the Constitution in political matters. The younger Mr Zardari has thus made clear that he supports the demand that elections be held within the 90 days stipulated by the Constitution, delimitations or no delimitations.
This adds to the confusion which has been created by the Election Commission of Pakistan, which first announced that it would complete delimitations in December, and then said it would do so by November 30. This did not satisfy those demanding polls within 90 days, while giving the impression that the delimitation process could be completed so as to allow the polls to be held on time. Perhaps more significant is the ECP’s failure to announce a poll date. Coupled with the statements emanating from members of the caretaker government, who are taking a much longer view of how long they will be in office than is justified by the Constitution, the caretaker government does not seem to have any intention of pressing the ECP to stick to the timeframe sanctioned by the Constitution.
While the political scene presents an unedifying spectacle at the moment, the dispute coming into public between father and son raises uncomfortable memories of dynastic struggles within the PPP before. There was the struggle between the younger Mr Zardari’s late mother, Benazir Bhutto, and her own mother, Nusrat, for the control of the PPP. There was also the sibling rivalry between Benazir and her brother Murtaza, which only ended with the latter’s assassination. So far, the arrangement whereby Mr Zardari controlled the party in trust for his son, seems to have worked. However, it seems to be breaking down. If so, it can hardly be a worse time for the party, as it heads into a general election. THere is also the aspect of the struggle for the soul of the party; is it to remain committed to the constitutional path, as the younger Mr Zardari wishes, or is to to join hands with the establishment, as the elder seems to want?
