The senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership came together on Sunday to deliberate the Senate elections that have been announced for March 3. Sources privy to the meeting reveal that the agenda was two-fold: addressing what went wrong in Balochistan, and preventing anything remotely similar from happening in the buildup to the March elections.
The PML-N leadership accuses Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari of exacerbating the crisis that led to former Balochistan chief minister Sanaullah Zehri being replaced with Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s (PML-Q) Abdul Quddus Bizenjo. And concerns about similar ‘horse-trading’ by Zardari, and how to forestall it, were discussed in Sunday’s meeting.
“[Asif Ali] Zardari doesn’t care about democracy. His politics is solely focused on his business and for him the Senate elections are just another opportunity to strike business deals,” said PML-N leader and Federal Railways Minister Saad Rafique who was part of the meeting.
Another PML-N leader privy to the discussions said the party is reflecting on itself while formulating its strategy for the Senate elections. “We have to figure out where we erred as well,” he said, asking to stay unnamed. “I think the biggest folly and in turn its remedy would be to make sure that we don’t just focus on Punjab, since these are Senate elections. The party has decided to be more aggressive in our campaigning in other provinces as well.”
Meanwhile, the PPP is quick off the blocks with regards to planning for the Senate elections as well, with Zardari meeting senior party leadership at Sindh CM House last Thursday. PPP leaders say that horse-trading is a ‘figment of the PML-N leadership’s imagination’, and the party is currently focusing on forming a core body that would scrutinise on merit the applications that they receive for the Senate elections.
“What horse-trading have we done? [The PML-N leaders] are its founders, starting off from Chhanga Maanga and historically being the ones who indulge in it while blaming others,” says PPP Information Secretary Chaudhry Manzoor. “There was a rebellion within their party in Balochistan, which is something that’s happening to the PML-N everywhere, with the JUI-F, their coalition partner, helping form the government there. And yet they’re cursing the PPP.”
He went on to add: “Zardari saheb actually saved the provincial assembly from being dissolved, in which case we would not be having Senate elections. So he just negotiated with the JUI-F and helped form the government.”
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) is currently focusing on the party’s own plan of action for the Senate elections. Party leaders confirm that they don’t want to restrict themselves to any province either and are aiming for a countrywide campaign once party chief Fazl-ur-Rehman returns from Malaysia.
The JUI-F leaders deny any cooperation with the PPP, or any anti-PML-N agenda with regards to their involvement in the Balochistan CM being changed.
“First of all we weren’t the ones who brought the vote of no confidence—that was the PML-N’s own faction,” says senior JUI-F leader Amjad Khan. “So when there are cracks within, those on the outside are bound to capitalise. Also leaving everything aside, the most important aspect was the need to save the assembly.”
While Amjad Khan said that the JUI-F isn’t involved in horse-trading, he maintained that the conditions are ripe for it. “Currently there are just rumours of horse-trading, but it is also true that such scenarios do tend to facilitate it. But this would only be formalised once the nomination papers are submitted.”
He added that it needed to be underlined that their alliance with the PML-N was confined to the Centre. And that there is no electoral alliance, only a temporary government alliance. “If our alliance had been nationwide, we wouldn’t have been in the opposition in Balochistan.”
Even so, there are reports that Nawaz Sharif and Fazl-ur-Rehman haven’t spoken to each other for a while, even though both party leaders deny claims of a standoff. “Political leaders should only meet when there’s a purpose or such circumstances. There hasn’t been the need for a meeting of late,” says Khan, adding that since the Balochistan crisis was ‘self-inflicted’ there wasn’t any need to interact either.
Reports of ruptures with the JUI-F are being received well within the PPP ranks, as the countdown begins to the Senate polls. “This is karma. What they said would happen to us is now happening to them,” said Chaudhry Manzoor. “They said they would drag our leaders out onto the streets. It i they who are being dragged right now.”
The PML-N leadership accuses Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari of exacerbating the crisis that led to former Balochistan chief minister Sanaullah Zehri being replaced with Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s (PML-Q) Abdul Quddus Bizenjo. And concerns about similar ‘horse-trading’ by Zardari, and how to forestall it, were discussed in Sunday’s meeting.
"I think the biggest folly and in turn its remedy would be to make sure that we don't just focus on Punjab, since these are Senate elections. The party has decided to be more aggressive in our campaigning in other provinces as well"
“[Asif Ali] Zardari doesn’t care about democracy. His politics is solely focused on his business and for him the Senate elections are just another opportunity to strike business deals,” said PML-N leader and Federal Railways Minister Saad Rafique who was part of the meeting.
Another PML-N leader privy to the discussions said the party is reflecting on itself while formulating its strategy for the Senate elections. “We have to figure out where we erred as well,” he said, asking to stay unnamed. “I think the biggest folly and in turn its remedy would be to make sure that we don’t just focus on Punjab, since these are Senate elections. The party has decided to be more aggressive in our campaigning in other provinces as well.”Meanwhile, the PPP is quick off the blocks with regards to planning for the Senate elections as well, with Zardari meeting senior party leadership at Sindh CM House last Thursday. PPP leaders say that horse-trading is a ‘figment of the PML-N leadership’s imagination’, and the party is currently focusing on forming a core body that would scrutinise on merit the applications that they receive for the Senate elections.
“What horse-trading have we done? [The PML-N leaders] are its founders, starting off from Chhanga Maanga and historically being the ones who indulge in it while blaming others,” says PPP Information Secretary Chaudhry Manzoor. “There was a rebellion within their party in Balochistan, which is something that’s happening to the PML-N everywhere, with the JUI-F, their coalition partner, helping form the government there. And yet they’re cursing the PPP.”
He went on to add: “Zardari saheb actually saved the provincial assembly from being dissolved, in which case we would not be having Senate elections. So he just negotiated with the JUI-F and helped form the government.”
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) is currently focusing on the party’s own plan of action for the Senate elections. Party leaders confirm that they don’t want to restrict themselves to any province either and are aiming for a countrywide campaign once party chief Fazl-ur-Rehman returns from Malaysia.The JUI-F leaders deny any cooperation with the PPP, or any anti-PML-N agenda with regards to their involvement in the Balochistan CM being changed.
“First of all we weren’t the ones who brought the vote of no confidence—that was the PML-N’s own faction,” says senior JUI-F leader Amjad Khan. “So when there are cracks within, those on the outside are bound to capitalise. Also leaving everything aside, the most important aspect was the need to save the assembly.”
While Amjad Khan said that the JUI-F isn’t involved in horse-trading, he maintained that the conditions are ripe for it. “Currently there are just rumours of horse-trading, but it is also true that such scenarios do tend to facilitate it. But this would only be formalised once the nomination papers are submitted.”
He added that it needed to be underlined that their alliance with the PML-N was confined to the Centre. And that there is no electoral alliance, only a temporary government alliance. “If our alliance had been nationwide, we wouldn’t have been in the opposition in Balochistan.”
Even so, there are reports that Nawaz Sharif and Fazl-ur-Rehman haven’t spoken to each other for a while, even though both party leaders deny claims of a standoff. “Political leaders should only meet when there’s a purpose or such circumstances. There hasn’t been the need for a meeting of late,” says Khan, adding that since the Balochistan crisis was ‘self-inflicted’ there wasn’t any need to interact either.
Reports of ruptures with the JUI-F are being received well within the PPP ranks, as the countdown begins to the Senate polls. “This is karma. What they said would happen to us is now happening to them,” said Chaudhry Manzoor. “They said they would drag our leaders out onto the streets. It i they who are being dragged right now.”