After a three-day long confrontation between the government and the opposition in the National Assembly both sides reached an agreement to run the house peacefully. A PTI committee headed by Defense Minister Pervez Khattak conceded the opposition’s demand to review the passage of 21 bills passed in haste last week. The opposition in return agreed to withdraw its no-confidence motion against the Deputy Speaker. While the opposition duly carried out its part of the agreement, adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan refused to withdraw any legislation. There is a perception that the PM was unhappy over his party leaders yielding to the opposition’s demand and therefore directed to rescind the agreement. The failure to honour the agreement would not only damage PTI’s credibility but also create doubts about its avowed seriousness to run the parliamentary proceedings smoothly.
After losing by elections all over the country the PTI is at a loss over how to perform better in elections due two years hence. With opposition unwilling to accept the electronic voting system with a malleable NADRA playing a key role, the government leaders are at their wits’ end. Despite claims of rising GDP, the common man finds no improvement in his livelihood. With an IMF mission due to arrive in August, failure to raise enough finances could again bring back the era of austerity accompanied by more taxes, rise in prices and increase in unemployment.
What information minister Fawad Chaudhry said at a press conference in Karachi revealed the government’s desperation. Unlike Punjab where the ruling PTI lost by-elections, those conducted in Sindh showed the ruling PPP was still on a winning spree and could snatch some of the PTI’ seats in the next elections. Fawad Chaudhry fulminated against the provincial government calling it corrupt and maintaining that the Center would monitor the use of funds allocated to Sindh. While keeping silent about local bodies elections in Punjab and KP, Fawad Chaudhry wanted SC to enforce Article 140 in Sindh, underlining PTI leadership’s double standards.
The way the PTI is pressurizing the opposition parties is likely to force the dissenters to rejoin the PDM. If the opposition is driven to the wall in the NA and the center pesters the Sindh government too much, the opposition might again be on the roads.
