‘No more Qs and Ns...’

PML-Q’s secretary-general discusses the unification of factions.


Express November 01, 2010

KARACHI: A Pakistan Muslim League that stands for all the provinces and all of Pakistan’s people, a PML that is no longer dominated by Punjab. That is the goal behind unifying their factions, explained PML-Quaid secretary general Haleem Adil Sheikh.

He told The Express Tribune that they want to get rid of all the Qs and Ns and simply create a ‘Pakistan Muslim League’. Of course, they do not want to include Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N and Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League.

PML’s Hum Khayal group led by Saleem Saifullah, Sheikh Rashid, Ejazul Haq and Pir Pagara are all on the same page. These factions have expressed confidence in the leadership of Pir Pagara of the PML-Functional (PML-F).

“We want to restore the Muslim League to its position as a party representing all of Pakistan,” Sheikh said, adding that this was how the party was like in Jinnah’s time.

This merger should not be perceived as an attack on the government. “We don’t support any unconstitutional steps,” he said. “We just want to fight for the public’s rights in the upcoming elections.”

After the merger is finalised, the unified party will start contacting nationalist parties in Sindh. “But we will only approach those that support Pakistan,” he said, clarifying that they were not patronising parties with secessionist agendas.

Sheikh regretted his previous alliance with Pervez Musharraf, which he called a ‘big mistake’.

Relations with the PPP

Relations between PML-Q and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have never been friction-free for long. Not too long ago, the PPP had started calling their party the ‘Qatil League’. The mudslinging became even more pronounced after the attack on Benazir Bhutto in Karachi.

Even before that, Bhutto had claimed that among her many potential attackers, PML-Q’s Chaudhry Pervez Ellahi ranked high. The PPP was forever accusing the PML-Q of ‘hatching conspiracies against them’. But now the PPP has started ‘knocking on our doors’, said Sheikh. Referring to the recent meeting between Chaudhry Pervez Ellahi and Babar Awan, Sheikh was of the view that this was proof of the PML-Q’s innocence. This shows that their earlier allegations were all false, he said.

Two years ago and more recently, a few months ago, when rumours of strife between the coalition parties erupted, the PPP contacted the PML-Q. However, this was not a ‘sincere attempt’ and negotiations broke off before a tangible relation could be established.

Sheikh, who is a member of his party’s central executive committee, also said that during the recent meeting with the PPP’s Awan, the PML-Q had said that they want to see the replacement of some “corrupt members of the cabinet who were also NRO beneficiaries”.

The secretary general was confident that with the PPP’s cooperation, the PML-Q could do quite well in both the federal and provincial (Punjab) governments. He said that the PML-N was confined to the Punjab. “They [PML-N] have made Punjab a police state and corruption there has broken all past records,” said Sheikh.

“If the PPP and PML-Q make an alliance then we can make a government in the Punjab and also support the PPP in both the federal and provincial governments.”

If the PPP loses the support of one of its coalition partners in the central government, the PML-Q with its 53 seats can play an integral role in keeping the government intact. Similarly, in the Punjab, the PML-Q has 86 seats, the PPP has 108 and the PML-N has 146.

“A joint government of the PPP and PML-Q can be made easily, and would give the PML-N a tough time in the coming elections,” he said.

All that said, however, Sheikh maintained that his party wanted ‘opposition politics’ rather than ‘power politics’, meaning that they did not covet power as long as they could ‘do their part by being in the Opposition’.

Of course, if the PPP came knocking at their door again, then the PML-Q would consider joining them — but only for the sake of ‘democracy’. “Because we don’t want to derail any government through unlawful means,” he concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2010.

COMMENTS (1)

Shamshad Ali | 13 years ago | Reply It is not for the first time Muslim Leagues are getting united, history is witness whenever they sat together it was merely on embellishment’s signal. The reason behind this was to isolate PPP but it seems PPP is concerned about the unification of Pakistan Muslim League factions. . However, differences in the PML have already started even before its unification. PPP had adopted a reconciliation policy and PML unification would not affect it. If the PPP can join hands with the PML-N in Punjab, why can’t it sit with the PML-Q,” he added. PPP led government is going strong as it enjoyed the backing of the people. PPP is without an iota of doubt the largest political party of Pakistan. It gets millions of votes not just in elections it forms a government but also when it didn’t form a government in 2002; it polled the highest number of votes in the country.
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