Opposition’s politics

What better the PTI-led government could have hoped for! The opposition remains divided – and largely muted – ever since Imran Khan came to power in August 2018. Over and over again has the opposition failed to forge a united front against a government that offers a lot to be lashed out at. Let’s see the timeline. The PML-N and the PPP – the two main opposition parties – failed to agree on a joint candidate in the PM’s election on August 17, 2018. They then fielded their own candidates for the presidential election on September 4, 2018 against the ruling coalition’s Arif Alvi. Aitzaz Ahsan was the PPP’s nominee while Maulana Fazlur Rahman of the JUI-F was backed by all other opposition parties. The result: Alvi had a smooth sailing to the dignified office of the President of Pakistan.

Almost a year on – on August 1, 2019 to be exact – a defeated no-trust vote against Sadiq Sanjrani further exposed the cracks in the opposition ranks as the numbers were suggesting a snowball’s chance in hell for Sanjrani to survive. In October-November came the Azadi March, led by Maulana Fazl, to “rid the nation of PM Imran Khan”. The Maulana’s march failed in its pursuit, mainly because of the PML-N and the PPP only making token contributions despite remaining on board during the planning part of the protest march and appearing serious during the negotiation process. And now with the Maulana again pulling up his socks to embark on the same ‘mission’, the opposition house again appears divided, with Bilawal Bhutto coming up with a surprise criticism of the Sharifs. He gave the elder Sharif the same label – ‘selected’ – that he often uses in his criticism of the incumbent PM and scathingly lamented the long absence of younger Sharif, the leader of the opposition, from parliament.

The timing of Bilawal’s sudden remarks raises questions as to the seriousness of the PPP in playing the due role of an opposition party.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2020.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.