Deeper divide

We wonder what the PML-N is scared of and why it has such little faith in its own members meeting the PPP.

The PML-N’s altered line of a more aggressive policy against the government continues. In an unusual move, parliamentarians have been stopped from holding ‘direct’ meetings with the prime minister or members of the Cabinet. We wonder what the PML-N is scared of and why it has such little faith in its own members. Rather like school boys who require to be kept in strict line, they will now be required to inform top party leaders if  ‘unavoidable’ contact was made. It is unclear if these orders will apply to encounters at wedding receptions or other social occasions when PPP and PML-N leaders are likely to meet. The inter-linkages between political families whose members hold seats in parliament are well-established and in a number of cases relatives are aligned with parties who now stand on opposite sides of the fence.

The PML-N chief, Mian Nawaz Sharif, has said he does not wish members of his party to seek ‘favours’. We would imagine that this is possible anyway, over telephone lines or through messages, and is a matter of party discipline or ethics. A simple instruction to members to avoid doing so should have been sufficient. The new hostility from the PML-N is, however, disturbing. While the opposition is free to criticise government policies, it should not be necessary to openly display animosity in the manner adopted by the PML-N. Cooperation between opponents is a hallmark of mature democracy. The agreement on this between Democrats and Republicans after the recent setback suffered by President Obama’s party at polls is an example of this.

In 2008, the PML-N had promised to play a constructive role. It can do so whether as a government ally or in opposition. However, petty measures of the kind adopted now only bring back bitter memories of the 1990s and the role played by political parties to bring down the government, in order to propel themselves to power. In the process, both the PML-N and the PPP suffered damage. The biggest loser, though, was democracy. As things stand now, everything possible must be done to avert a repetition of such a scenario.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2010.