Sensing the dangers in supporting a weak government at the Centre after the recently concluded elections sprang a hung parliament, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday offered the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz support in forming its government at the Centre but in return sought to see his father, Asif Ali Zardari, become president.
"We will support a political party without becoming part of the government," the PPP chairman said while addressing a news conference after attending the Central Executive Committee meeting in the federal capital.
The announcement would to some extent help end an atmosphere of stalemate after the Feb 8 vote gave a split verdict, sparking worries of fresh political instability in the country.
Bilawal said his party wasn't interested in a new alliance with the PML-N but would support any government formed by them on certain issues.
"But we will support the votes of prime ministership, budget, and legislation on an issue-to-issue basis," he said.
The former foreign minister said he would like to see his father become president again.
"And I am not saying this because he is my father. I am saying this because the country is in a huge crisis at the moment and if anyone has the capacity to douse this flame, it is Asif Ali Zardari," he said.
The move is seen in the political circles as a bargaining chip given the fact that the head of state usually enjoys a secure five-year term and the president is immune to any corruption charges as long as he sits in the presidency.
Zardari, who served as the president of the country during from 2008 to 2013, has faced corruption allegations throughout his political life so far.
He faced a myriad of cases in courts but comes out unscathed – thanks to his political sagacity and skills.
Besides, it is believed that the PPP also wants the posts of National Assembly speaker and Senate chairman in addition to governors of its choice in the provinces.
لائیو: پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کی سینٹرل ایگزیکٹو کمیٹی کے اجلاس کے بعد چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری کی میڈیا سے گفتگو https://t.co/TzCekjm5GR
— Pakistan Peoples Party - PPP (@PPP_Org) February 13, 2024
In response to a question, Bilawal said all political forces needed to think about the country and end the politics of division.
“They must not just think about themselves … this way the enemies of the country would want to benefit from this crisis. It takes two to tango.”
The PML-N is the largest recognised party with 75 seats and the PPP is second with 54.
Together, the two parties have enough for a simple majority in the 264-seat legislature.
Independent candidates backed by jailed former premier Imran Khan have won 92 seats, making them the largest group, but they cannot form a government on their own, having run as individuals and not a party.
Bilawal’s chances of forming a government with the support of PTI-backed independents got slim after the PTI ruled out joining forces with the PML-N or the PPP. "That leaves us with the PML-N which is the only political party in the National Assembly which has reached out to the PPP and invited us to join their government," he told the media.
In his news conference, the PPP chairman criticised the PTI’s political strategy of perpetual confrontation, saying the PTI’s refusal to speak to “any political party” reflected that they were creating an “environment of political instability”.
Bilawal alleged that the PTI wanted to continue an “extreme populist politics in which they want to play the role of a spoiler”.
He said the Imran Khan-led party wanted to de-legitimise as many democratic processes as possible.
“They believe it’s to their political benefit to spread chaos in this country.”
Read PPP to pay ‘huge cost’ if it aligns with PML-N: Chan
He said the PTI was taking decisions that were not favourable for democracy. “Saying that we will not talk with anyone, okay don’t. But why did the people give you a vote? They voted for you to resolve their problems … a political force must listen to others.
“When they don’t do that, it damages the country.”
On the contrary, the PPP chairman said: the PPP “does not want a perpetual economic crisis or a fresh election leading to a political crisis in the country”.
He stated that the PPP had today once again decided to raise the slogan of “Pakistan khappay” only for the sake of the country and in the interest of the people.
“We will support political parties without becoming part of the government in the shape of ministries or PDM 2 as people are saying. We will not become part of it.”
He added that if the PPP had not joined the PML-N, the country would have suffered.
"It cannot be that one party always raises objections against the poll results.
“We want all the political parties to address the shortcomings so that no one can point fingers at elections the next time. We will also utilise available forums like the ECP and parliament in addressing these issues," Bilawal said.
"We want a government at the Centre which should be allowed to function. I will not be putting myself forward for the candidacy of the prime minister of Pakistan," Bilawal said, adding that the PML-N and independents had a greater number at the Centre.
Bilawal said the PPP decided to form a committee to engage with other political parties for the formation of government and political stability.
PPP has decided that while we are not in the position to join the federal government, nor are we interested in taking ministries in such a setup, we also don’t want to see political chaos in the country. We don’t want to see a perpetual crisis in our country – Chairman PPP… pic.twitter.com/tJvNMIQjLR
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) February 13, 2024
“The PPP has decided that we are unable or not in a position to join the federal government ourselves, nor are we interested in taking ministries in such a set-up. We also don’t want to see political chaos in the country,” he said.
“The PPP has decided that we ran this election on a manifesto based on issues of public importance. We want to restore political stability and want to end this environment of political toxicity.
“To that end, the PPP will be willing to support the case of important votes — a candidate of the PM of Pakistan — and issue to issue basis to ensure that the government is formed and political stability is restored,” Bilawal said.
Separately, PPP Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari said that he and other political leaders gathered with him decided to form the government together.
“We will take Pakistan out of difficulty,” he said, adding that reconciliation was also needed and the PTI was included in that process.
“This is not that we want that the PTI does not enter reconciliation. It should and every other political force should come and talk with us. Our economic and defence agenda should be common. We should move forward with our commonalities and then make the house of Sharif and others successful so we can make Pakistan successful.”
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