Politics of crest and trough

In his over 100-minutes speech, Prime Minister Imran Khan has played the perfect roulette of his political career. He took everyone by surprise by categorically announcing in public on record that his ouster is being planned at the behest of foreign agents. Thus, in what seemed to be a déjà vu for many, he waived a classified letter received in his office, which allegedly goes on to intimidate him on pursuing an independent foreign policy. Former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto too in 1977 had showcased a similar letter written from Cyrus Vance, the then US Secretary of State, threatening him of dire consequences. The rest is history. The charged PTI crowd, which is being termed as the largest in the federal capital to this date, has left behind a mark of consent on his popularity. It was also a word of caution to all who may be wheeling-dealing behind the curtains. The rally was, indeed, in an electioneering tone, as the embattled PM seemed to be gearing up for early elections.

Notwithstanding the rhetoric, the Prime Minister aptly pointed out his successes in three-and-half years of governance. He claimed it to be the best in the last 30 years of his predecessors’ rule, and challenged the opposition and the media to debate with him on his achievements. This worked as a booster for his supporters who were carried away merely to see a glimpse of their leader. From macroeconomic indicators to building of dams, and from negotiating a renewed deal with the IPPs to resolving the Reko Digo litigation, he said no stone has been left unturned in all sincerity to lay the foundations of a welfare state. He made it clear that his policy of self-reliance and pursuit for an independent foreign policy is acting as a thorn in the eyes. His astute pandemic management and the landmark resolution at the world body against antiIslamophobia were other aspects that kept the crowd on its toes.

The political debate on his future, however, lied somewhere else. It wasn’t there at the Parade Ground. His wafer-thin majority in the National Assembly got a brute jolt hours before his public address, as the JWP lone MNA and adviser to the PM on Balochistan Shazain Bugti bid adieu. Flanked alongside PPP’s chairman Bilawal Zardari, he announced the quitting of the federal cabinet. Though this was played down by the ruling dispensation, the real threat was looming around in Lahore as the PML-Nawaz reportedly agreed to award the Punjab chief ministership to the Chaudhry’s of Gujrat. The PML-Q is contemplating the offer, and has kept the entire decorum at the federation on tenterhooks.

With the no-trust motion now formally moved on the floor of the house on Monday, it’s a nail-biting situation for the treasury and the opposition. The fact that debate on the resolution has been deferred till March 31, has raised many eyebrows and given enough room for give and take in politics. With governmental allies remaining indecisive and Speaker Pervaiz Elahi assuming Punjab Chief Minister’s office with government support, the tables could turn either way. As they say, timing is crucial in politics, so is the case here too. The Supreme Court, which is supposed to interpret the clause of defection, could set the ball rolling by pronouncing a short verdict in a day or two. The magic figure of 172 legislators, to be produced in the lower house, still remains an uphill task.