AT a time when speculations were rife about the very future of the democracy due to stalemate in the formation of the government, two major political parties – the PML(N) and the PPP – demonstrated maturity and arrived at a consensus about broad contours of the next set-up. Addressing a joint news conference in Islamabad at midnight the leadership of the two parties announced their understanding on the issue after week-long intensive negotiations, which, according to insiders, saw many ups and downs. The crux of the understanding is that PML(N) President Shehbaz Sharif, as announced earlier, would remain the coalition’s candidate for the office of the thorny office of the Prime Minister while PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari would be the candidate for coveted slot of the President.
Further details were not officially disclosed but media reports suggest an understanding under which PML(N) will have its Speaker of the National Assembly and the Deputy Chairman Senate while PPP’s nominees would be elected as Chairman Senate and Deputy Speaker National Assembly. The proposed arrangement is an indication that no single party would be able to pursue its own agenda and only consensus-driven legislation and policies would be implemented. Balochistan, where the two parties would form a government jointly, will have a Chief Minister from PPP but no details are available for the rest of the important offices. PPP will have its nominee as Governors of Punjab and KP while PML(N) will do so in the case of Sindh and Balochistan but it is quite understandable that PML(N) will have to accommodate MQM-P in Sindh. The agreement on government formation augurs well for the democracy as well as the overall future of the country as confusion and uncertainty were taking their own toll sending wrong messages to markets and investors. Remarks made by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari outside the Supreme Court building on Tuesday were quite depressing as he accused PML(N) of the delay in the agreement whereas his own statement that the PPP would give vote to PML-N (for the election of the Prime Minister) on its own terms and not that of the PML-N suggested who was responsible for the delay. The unbending stance of Bilawal and PPP’s bid to seek more than its due share were not healthy traditions as the party wanted to enjoy powers without sharing the burden of possible blames. Reports suggest the PPP has so far not agreed to repeated demands of the other side to join the federal cabinet and share the burden of hard decisions and policies that the new government will have to take during initial months and years. However, this would not be a major problem as PML(N) would also get credit for successes, if it was able to achieve, on the basis of its experience and track record. Already, the nominated Prime Minister (Shehbaz Sharif) spoke about both the challenges and prospects when he said the alliance has to revive the economy, fight terrorism and return the country to the path to prosperity. He said, “We have to eliminate the debt burden. This alliance brings together the young and the seasoned that will steer the country out of crisis.” Shehbaz also expressed the hope that the news of the PPP-PML-N coalition government will elicit a positive response from the markets. No one can predict for sure what would happen at the federal level due to precarious economic conditions of the country, the necessity of seeking another IMF deal that might come with the worst conditions, a surge in terrorism and foreign policy challenges. However, major political parties would be in a sort of competition in provinces where they will have their own governments, giving people a clear picture of who is delivering in a better manner. No doubt, the PML(N) and the PPP have sorted out their differences and now they have sufficient numbers to form a coalition government at the Centre but the road ahead is not smooth as the issue of alleged rigging and the desperate moves by the PTI to get its share of reserved seats would continue to shake the system. Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed has proposed a unity government consisting of PTI, PML-N and PPP, which is an improbability because of obvious reasons but there is definitely a need for a Grand National dialogue for healing of wounds.
