Independents will side with highest bidder: Vawda

Says PTI is out of the fray and PML-N will grab less than 100 seats

ISLAMABAD:

Senior politician Faisal Vawda has claimed that steering the next government without the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Zardari would be a tightrope walk as it will be “challenging”.

Talking to a private TV news channel, Vawda said since the PTI was no longer in the electoral fray, the battleground was now reduced to a two-way game between the PPP and the PML-N.

Painting a bleak picture of the incoming government, he predicted that “it will be a miracle if it manages to endure for two years”, adding that it will be likely a short 11 or 12-month wonder.

He further predicted that in case the government limps along for 11 months, “the PDM-2” (the Pakistan Democratic Movement) will never be formed as the PPP and the PML-N would be unlikely bedfellows.

“They will not sit together.”

The senior politician said that the winning independent members would be the real kingmakers as they would decide the government “while the role of Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) was also apparent”.

Commenting on the prevailing political breeze, he said, “No need to break an independent candidate; they will determine the direction of the wind. The judicial system has already indicated the direction in which the wind is blowing.”

He noted that some independent candidates would shift around, indicating their readiness to join various political parties. "There will be a bidding process for the independent candidates just like what happens in a goat market,” he asserted.

“These independent candidates will align themselves with the party that offers the highest bid."
Moreover, he predicted a fragile government that could be likened to a thread. "A government thinner than a thread will be formed.”

Read: Vawda takes a dig at Nawaz

Clarifying that he was not joining the PPP, he stated, "Asif Zardari is an expert player in the political arena.” Vawda said he could see his images being displayed at the President's House."

"The slogan 'Khalai Makhlooq' was associated with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, and he, too, received a clean chit," he remarked.

"Of all the institutions in Pakistan, the PPP will assert ownership over each one," he claimed.
The senior politician went on to lament that everyone was engaging in politics solely for personal gain, with little regard for the interests of Pakistan.

He predicted that the PML-N would struggle to secure even 100 seats, stating, “It’s uncertain what might happen if they participate independently and end up in the third position.”

Vawda remarked that Zardari was informed that the current leaders were “expired”. "Asif Zardari said that his son and individuals like yourself (Vawda) are the ones poised to lead the country into the future."

Vawda said, “To be expired is very important in this game but unfortunately it is not like that. Three or four self-made heroes are not being replaced. The problem is that the villain is the same but the heroes are being changed.”