Not exactly friends

The pre-electoral game of ring-o’-roses is now well underway. The latest to trip the light fantastic are none other than the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Both are mainstream parties of long standing with visible figures at their head even if in one case there are two heads and in the other the head is now carried underneath the arm. And none of the available heads are currently in the government. No matter, the PPP and the PML-N have announced that they are to work together in order to avert the possibility of a technocrat government. Given that there does not appear to have been any credible suggestion that technocrats were lurking in the wings and about to pounce; one might wonder at why this new-found willingness to work together to avert a seemingly invisible threat is necessary.

The two parties are long estranged but nonetheless are now saying that they will utilise all legal and constitutional options in order to ‘put to rest’ speculations that shifty technocrats are about to seize power. Further, they will devise strategies that will enable them to work with other parties and they will adopt legislation relating to the delimitation of constituency boundaries and accountability as well as other issues that may come up in Parliament. The test of this new-found amity will be the Senate elections in March 2018 and then on to the next general election on the due date.

A cautious welcome must be extended to any move that brings calmer waters to the national political sea. ‘Sources’ are saying that discussions within the PML-N have decided to refurbish relations with the PPP at least in terms of parliamentary business and there is no plan to cooperate beyond that. Twists and turns are going to be the order of the day well into the new year as alliances are formed and tested. The Big Beasts will want to protect their vote banks and the Smaller Beasts will be looking to functional coalitions and the rank outsiders will catch what crumbs they can. As for a change of power electorally only time will tell.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2017.

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