Dissolution: PML-N caught between the devil and the deep blue sea

LAHORE:

With the PTI having made its first move of announcing the dissolution of both the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab assemblies on December 23, the PML-N -- with its apparently very limited options -- seems confused between intercepting the move or meeting its rival party in the election arena.

The third option of engaging the PTI with an offer of snap elections still stands.

However, the PML-N and other Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) parties see it as giving their arch-rival an upper hand.

PTI chairman and deposed premier Imran Khan, while talking to journalists on Friday, said the only option to engage with the ruling coalition was if it announced an early date of the general elections.

Otherwise, he added that no negotiations could be held.

The first two options available with the PDM come with their own set of problems.

The first one is the no-confidence motion, which would put the entire burden on the PML-N-led opposition to prove they have the support of 186 lawmakers in the Punjab Assembly.

However, it apparently lacks the backing of the required number of MPAs for this purpose.

The second option will be to make Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi, who is also a PML-Q stalwart, to prove that he has the support of the majority of the House.

However, as he apparently  enjoys that at the moment, so securing a majority in a vote of confidence will not be a tricky task.

For ensuring victory in these two options, the PML-N-led opposition will require to win over either PTI MPAs or reel in those of the PML-Q.

In either of the cases, the outcome of the recently held by-elections, wherein the PTI pummeled their defecting contestants who ran for the polls on PML-N tickets, will be enough to raise the red flags for many.

Furthermore, if the PML-N did employ either of the options, it would put the party at a weak position as since last week, it had started challenging the PTI to dissolve the assemblies and vowed to teach the latter “a lesson” by defeating it in the elections.

A vote of confidence or no-trust is likely to make it difficult for the PML-N to justify its recently opted position.

It will also in a way provide credence to the PTI’s created impression that the PML-N was running away from elections.

However, the PDM still seems optimistic that the Elahi camp might switch sides at the eleventh hour.

The incumbent Punjab CM has made his position of standing by the PTI chief very clear several times.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Interior and Legal Affairs Attaullah Tarar told The Express Tribune that his party had yet to decide on which option to exercise.

He added that both options of the vote of confidence and no-trust were available before.

He said the decision would be taken in the coming days and a huddle had been convened to discuss the matter.

“The PTI, by giving a deadline till next week, has given us enough time,” the PML-N leader maintained, adding that “so much” could happen between now and then.

Tarar claimed that many PTI lawmakers did not want the assemblies to be dissolved.

When asked were there any PTI MPAs who were in touch with the government, he replied that they were in talks with around 10 of them.

He further said one of the two options would be exercised in any case.

When asked that would not the intercepting of the dissolution of the provincial assembly be against the PML-N's narrative of being prepared for the elections, Tarar said the party had not decided anything yet but the party might be seen contesting the polls.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, while talking to a private TV news channel, also said the PML-N had not decided about which option to exercise yet.

He added that his party was prepared for elections and not intercepting the PTI’s move to dissolve the provincial assembly could be one of the options.