Political networking
The PTI lived up to its resilience as it formally cobbled an alliance with two religio-political parties to stay afloat as a political dispensation on the floor of the house. Its alliance with Sunni Ittehad Council and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen will be part of electoral watchdog log book, enabling it to acquire its specified quota of reserved seats in the parliament. This arrangement with the religious duo is for the Centre and Punjab, whereas for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa it has tied the knot with Jamaat-e-Islami. A lot of networking woes and hassles came its way as the PTI-led Independent candidates were in a quick fix to not only retain their unitary presence in the assemblies but also cull the temptation of floor crossing by some of its wayward members. This political amalgamation is a good omen and has strengthened the spirit of parliamentary democracy, pitching it with a similar understanding that the PML-N, PPP and MQM have worked out to stake their claim for government formation.
With PTI sitting pretty cool with 90-odd legislators in the National Assembly, reserved members will come as a shot in the arm for it. But it is still not clear whether it will be able to strike the right chords with the smaller factions to put up a simple majority. So is the dilemma with PMLN and PPP which still differ over a host of issues ranging from being part of the cabinet to distribution of constitutional offices. Their vulnerability to show the right numbers got a blow as three MNAs-elect of PML-N were de-seated by the Islamabad High Court, and many more are likely to meet a similar fate on the basis of Form-45 veracity in favour of PTI candidates. This aspect of judicial correction will act as a decisive factor in the formation of the next government as a hung parliament comes into being.
The onus is on the political parties to ensure that this tricky process of networking sails through in serenity, and no activity is undertaken to exhibit brinkmanship. The verdict of the masses is in need of being honoured, and theories of conspiracy dumped altogether in national interest.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 20th, 2024.
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