By: Asem Mustafa
The coalition parties in the government of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) have unanimously rejected the demand for early elections. The PDM avowed the decision on election date will be made by the government and not by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said if Tehreek-e-Insaf wants elections, it will have to negotiate with the government.
Maryam Aurangzeb, the government spokesperson while addressing the press conference after consulting the PDM allies announced the acceptance of defeat in by-elections. She made it clear that if PTI Chairman Imran Khan form their own government by bringing no-confidence motion against the coalition government of PDM, they can also use the option of appointing the Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
It is interesting to note that General Bajwa in United States in his informal talks reiterated that he is not interested in extension while army spokesperson in the past has also said the same. Consultation is the key in democracy but in Pakistan, it is more like a battle between the political parties that score below the belt against their opponents. Appointments are a routine practice but in Pakistan certain positions are deliberately made a bone of contention resulting in rumours and speculations. In April 2022, PTI government was overthrown by a no-confidence motion and the current unrest in the country is because of that as the narrative by Imran Khan is accepted by the masses. A group of defectors from PTI paved way for the PDM’s government while majority of parliamentarians tendered their resignations to speaker national assembly. In principle, these resignations should have been accepted in total but only few were accepted and Imran Khan winning six national assembly seats on October 16 is an eye opener for the world and PDM in particular. PDM took the government on the pretext of being experienced, time tested and have a finger on the pulse of the masses but after ousting Imran Khan in April they have failed miserably on all accounts.
Miftah Ismail failure followed by Ishaq Dar incumbent Finance Minister is also showing another picture while economic indicators tell otherwise. Putting two and two together after Imran Khan’s ouster in April the experienced PDM’s stalwarts failed to control the dollar flight. The petroleum and electricity prices have made public retaliate against the government and they displayed their displeasure in the by-elections where they elected Imran Khan on six out of eight seats. Pakistan faced with catastrophic flood has also failed to attract the international community as world watched in great awe the topsy-turvy political upheaval where Imran Khan accused United States responsible for ‘regime change’, which US denied categorically.
The public responded to Imran Khan as they believed what happened was not right and the over half a century of public addresses in six months have shown the interest of the masses as who they believe in and what they want. All is not lost, there is still time for dialogue and PDM can initiate this as writing on the wall states otherwise and world watches with great anticipation what comes out from Pakistan due to its geostrategic demography.
The writer is a Special Correspondent at The Dayspring
