Wrangling in AJK

As the allies in the coalition government at the Centre mull a change of guard in AJK, they are seen at loggerheads in devising a joint strategy. The PPP, with 17 seats in a house of 52 members, is maneuvering the crosscurrents to install its own government, and has been able to win over the support of 10 PTI legislators.

This tendency of horse-trading and defections has been a modus operandi of our so-called democratic culture, thriving at the peril of political consciousness and stability. The lackluster from the PML-N, however, not to sit with the PPP in the next dispensation, and not to make any move on its own for dislodging the government is perplexing. Yet it says it might support a vote of no-confidence if tabled on the floor of the house.

The exit of Prime Minister Anwarul Haq would be the fourth in a row in the last four-and-half years of the sitting assembly. The desire to install a government for a meagre six months, as elections in the state are due next June, is unbecoming of sound political judgment, and hints at some dubious agenda.

It seems Haq is being penalised for his inaction during the recent standoff in AJK, wherein an apolitical Joint Action Committee brought the state to a standstill and succeeded in compelling the federal government to accept all of its demands in toto. Nonetheless, the fact that the PPP has not been able to name a candidate of consensus for premiership, as is mandated under the AJK constitution before a vote of confidence, and is seen playing to the gallery has plunged the state in further instability.

One of the most unfortunate aspects is the meddling of Pakistani political forces in AJK, and the fait accompli aspect that is created for indigenous voices. This in-house wrangling and the impact of JAC will have its long shadows cast at the upcoming ballot. With PPP out to experiment its political fortune with a wafer-thin majority and an annoyed ally in the opposition, it would be wise to let the status quo prevail till the suffrage is announced.