G-B power deal raises democratic concerns

Experts say setup blurs government-opposition lines

LAHORE:

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) may have agreed to form a government in Gilgit-Baltistan and finalised a power-sharing formula, but PML-N's decision to sit on the opposition benches while supporting the government has drawn criticism from leading political analysts, who described the arrangement as a bizarre proposition and a mockery of parliamentary norms.

Former caretaker Punjab chief minister Hasan Askari Rizvi said a leader of the opposition belonging to the government is akin to making a mockery of the parliamentary system.

"This is a personalised rule, though there is no authority that can check such distortions. It is interesting that the three major players in G-B are allies in the central government in Islamabad. That says everything about this current hybrid system."

Commenting on the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), Rizvi noted that despite failing to win a single seat in Gilgit-Baltistan, the party effectively received five seats after independent candidates joined its ranks.

He said the gift of seats should not be overinterpreted, as the party was unlikely to receive similar political gains elsewhere in the country.

Independents joining a relatively unknown party at a time when both the ruling party and one of its principal allies were fully active in the electoral arena was, in his view, an extremely rare occurrence and virtually unprecedented in Pakistani politics.

Senior journalist and political commentator Mazhar Hussain said that when the ruling alliance itself makes no secret of the hybrid nature of the system, no political development, regardless of how unusual, should come as a surprise.

"Democracy only exists in name"

Recalling the political developments of 1992, he said Muzaffar Hussain Shah became chief minister of Sindh despite the PPP holding the majority, followed by the MQM.

"He interestingly was from neither of two."

He argued that discussing democratic norms and ethics had become largely pointless.

"We have political parties, elections and parliament but no democracy."

Regarding the IPP, Hussain said he believed the party had been awarded these seats by the powers that be as a counterweight to the PPP.

"To ensure that PPP functions as per their whims, for in-case-otherwise situation, an alliance with remaining parties to bringing in a new government, is a threat that they have left dangling on PPP's head."

Political scientist and Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) President Ahmad Bilal Mehboob said PML-N's decision to occupy the opposition benches effectively deprives genuine opposition members of their voice, as its alliance with the government also makes it a partner in the incoming administration.

He observed that such situations can arise in democracies, although they remain politically contentious.

Commenting on the IPP, Mehboob said so-called "king's parties" have historically benefited from such political advantages, adding that there was nothing particularly surprising about the development in countries like Pakistan.

He said the political windfall would enhance the IPP's stature across the country and demonstrated that the party continued to enjoy relevance within influential power circles.