The Jan 31 deadline

It was an ultimatum — and an oft-repeated one, first given out in mid-December. The PDM had warned Imran Khan to quit as Prime Minister by January 31 or face action. What kind of an action? Long march? En masse resignations from assemblies? Or, a no-confidence motion? Well, this was the sticking point — and still is. A consensus continues to elude the 10-party opposition alliance on the kind of action to be taken against a “non-compliant” prime minister and his government. So much so that the January 31 deadline has passed away — quite quietly. And the PM is not bothered at all. Apart from a tweet from Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, marking the passing of the deadline, the PDM leadership preferred to keep mum rather than speak in justification of their lack of action.

And what is it that hinders the PDM — from stepping out in pursuit of its stated objectives? Well, there are two factors in the context — one, lack of mass support required for something as big as an anti-government movement; and two, the PPP’s divergent position within the alliance. That the PDM has failed to mobilise the masses against the government has no two opinions — something that the opposition alliance might have also realised. First it was the flop show in Lahore on December 13 that exposed the PDM’s lack of preparedness. Then came a lackluster protest outside the ECP on January 20, clearly showing where this anti-government coalition stands.

And the PPP differing with the rest of the PDM parties on how to go about removing the PM has much to do with the lack of unanimity of thought and action within the alliance. The parliamentary position of the PPP — which has a lot at stake in the system currently in place — should have been kept in mind by the PDM leadership while the anti-government strategies and goals were being determined. Where will then the PDM go from here? Well, it should wait for the government to go fall further on the performance index or for Asif Zardari to pull a rabbit out of his hat.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2021.

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