The emperor of Banigala is furious. He wants Shehbaz Sharif removed as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. Last session of the National Assembly caused quite a stir when during the second finance bill of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif took government to the cleaners and chided Prime Minister Imran Khan for barely appearing in the Lower House. He also repeated what Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had called him: Selected Prime Minister.
The prime minister got so agitated that he had to seek the help of his inflammable deputy Naeemul Haque who came out to hit Sharif hard and said the production orders for him and Saad Rafique should be revoked to keep them rotting in jail as punishment for their bad behaviour in the parliament.
The mood of the premier has still not recovered. Almost every day he is heard huffing and puffing against the opposition, especially Shehbaz Sharif. He is joined by his cabal of ministers which include the likes of Fawad Chaudhry, Sheikh Rasheed and other hawks.
They have said it loud and clear. They want either Shehbaz to resign as the chairman of the coveted Public Account Committee or he would be removed through a vote of no confidence when the committee meets next.
Theoretically, it is easy. Any member moves the resolution for removal of the chairman of the committee and then there is a vote. But it is easier said than done. Besides the ruling party, allies of the government are divided over the issue.
It gets more complicated because of Sheikh Rasheed’s claims that he is the new nominee of the prime minister to replace PTI MNA Riaz Fatyana in the Public Accounts Committee. Riaz Fatyana was not amused.
Another PTI MNA, erstwhile PPP leader, Raja Riaz also blasted Sheikh Rasheed. Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser did not like the way Sheikh Rasheed ridiculed him and challenged his authority. Rasheed had said that the Speaker had no authority not to appoint him on PAC, since Prime Minister Imran Khan had ordered to replace him with Riaz Fatyana.
Qaiser expressed on record his annoyance over Rasheed who challenged his authority. The committee also has four members of the Senate, each representing a federating unit with Senator Sherry Rehman of the PPP representing Sindh.
Given the divisions within the ranks of the ruling coalition, it will not be easy for the ruling party to overthrow Shehbaz Sharif. But at the end of the day, it is not about removing Sharif but what happens after.
On his part, Shehbaz Sharif is staying put. He has not summoned the meeting of the committee. He is waiting for reconvening of the National Assembly session on Monday, February 18, after the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman departs from the country.
Given the situation, sources say, the PTI contacted the PPP and asked if they would cooperate in Sharif’s removal. The PTI had earlier proposed Bilawal Bhutto Zardari or any other leader of the PPP to head the PAC, in order to divide the opposition but got a firm no from the party. This time around too, sources say, the PTI approached the party but the PPP tried to talk the PTI out of it. “Don’t do it. You will be the sole loser,” was the advice.
Sources within the PTI say it is most likely that Imran Khan would make another U Turn. But what if he didn’t blink this time? The combined opposition has gone over the drawing board and has plans ready in case the PTI succeeds removing Sharif from the Public Accounts Committee.
“We go back to paralysing the assembly. We will resign en masse from the standing committees including the PAC,” said a PML-N stalwart and insisted that the PPP and other opposition parties were also on board on these matters. He also mentioned some allies in the government.
If that happens, the parliament comes to a standstill. The parliament operates through its standing committees and the entire legislation process is goes through these committees. Although a bill can be passed even without standing committees from the Lower House of the parliament but with the ruling coalition in an absolute minority in Senate, the Upper House of the parliament, no legislation can take place. This will bring the entire parliament and the democratic project to a screeching halt.
Is this what the ruling party wants? Will it not discredit the democratic process and strengthen authoritarian forces in the country? There are already some quarters supporting extra constitutional or a hybrid order given the new situation emerging on western frontiers, amid the withdrawal of the American forces. Paralyzing the parliament will definitely strengthen the narrative of those quarters.
Will that suit Imran Khan? The answer to that question is a clear ‘no’. That is why pundits in the valley of Margallas believe that the PTI will make another u-turn and let Shehbaz Sharif continue as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. Sharif, too, may mellow down after some poking and prodding.
If that didn’t happen and Imran Khan goes ahead, then the situation may worsen as we enter the budget period during summer. The electricity bills of December and January are already soaring. Same goes with the gas bills. As we go near the conclusion of the new IMF program, if more inflation or stagflation as mentioned by some of the economists really hits the land of the pure, the crisis may get out of control for the PTI government. With media already on the chop, opposition pushed to the wall, the last thing PTI government can afford is a hot summer full of peoples’ sufferings. Hard rain gonna fall or not, we shall see sooner rather than later.
The prime minister got so agitated that he had to seek the help of his inflammable deputy Naeemul Haque who came out to hit Sharif hard and said the production orders for him and Saad Rafique should be revoked to keep them rotting in jail as punishment for their bad behaviour in the parliament.
The mood of the premier has still not recovered. Almost every day he is heard huffing and puffing against the opposition, especially Shehbaz Sharif. He is joined by his cabal of ministers which include the likes of Fawad Chaudhry, Sheikh Rasheed and other hawks.
They have said it loud and clear. They want either Shehbaz to resign as the chairman of the coveted Public Account Committee or he would be removed through a vote of no confidence when the committee meets next.
Theoretically, it is easy. Any member moves the resolution for removal of the chairman of the committee and then there is a vote. But it is easier said than done. Besides the ruling party, allies of the government are divided over the issue.
It gets more complicated because of Sheikh Rasheed’s claims that he is the new nominee of the prime minister to replace PTI MNA Riaz Fatyana in the Public Accounts Committee. Riaz Fatyana was not amused.
Another PTI MNA, erstwhile PPP leader, Raja Riaz also blasted Sheikh Rasheed. Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser did not like the way Sheikh Rasheed ridiculed him and challenged his authority. Rasheed had said that the Speaker had no authority not to appoint him on PAC, since Prime Minister Imran Khan had ordered to replace him with Riaz Fatyana.
Qaiser expressed on record his annoyance over Rasheed who challenged his authority. The committee also has four members of the Senate, each representing a federating unit with Senator Sherry Rehman of the PPP representing Sindh.
Given the divisions within the ranks of the ruling coalition, it will not be easy for the ruling party to overthrow Shehbaz Sharif. But at the end of the day, it is not about removing Sharif but what happens after.
On his part, Shehbaz Sharif is staying put. He has not summoned the meeting of the committee. He is waiting for reconvening of the National Assembly session on Monday, February 18, after the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman departs from the country.
Given the situation, sources say, the PTI contacted the PPP and asked if they would cooperate in Sharif’s removal. The PTI had earlier proposed Bilawal Bhutto Zardari or any other leader of the PPP to head the PAC, in order to divide the opposition but got a firm no from the party. This time around too, sources say, the PTI approached the party but the PPP tried to talk the PTI out of it. “Don’t do it. You will be the sole loser,” was the advice.
Sources within the PTI say it is most likely that Imran Khan would make another U Turn. But what if he didn’t blink this time? The combined opposition has gone over the drawing board and has plans ready in case the PTI succeeds removing Sharif from the Public Accounts Committee.
“We go back to paralysing the assembly. We will resign en masse from the standing committees including the PAC,” said a PML-N stalwart and insisted that the PPP and other opposition parties were also on board on these matters. He also mentioned some allies in the government.
If that happens, the parliament comes to a standstill. The parliament operates through its standing committees and the entire legislation process is goes through these committees. Although a bill can be passed even without standing committees from the Lower House of the parliament but with the ruling coalition in an absolute minority in Senate, the Upper House of the parliament, no legislation can take place. This will bring the entire parliament and the democratic project to a screeching halt.
Is this what the ruling party wants? Will it not discredit the democratic process and strengthen authoritarian forces in the country? There are already some quarters supporting extra constitutional or a hybrid order given the new situation emerging on western frontiers, amid the withdrawal of the American forces. Paralyzing the parliament will definitely strengthen the narrative of those quarters.
Will that suit Imran Khan? The answer to that question is a clear ‘no’. That is why pundits in the valley of Margallas believe that the PTI will make another u-turn and let Shehbaz Sharif continue as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. Sharif, too, may mellow down after some poking and prodding.
If that didn’t happen and Imran Khan goes ahead, then the situation may worsen as we enter the budget period during summer. The electricity bills of December and January are already soaring. Same goes with the gas bills. As we go near the conclusion of the new IMF program, if more inflation or stagflation as mentioned by some of the economists really hits the land of the pure, the crisis may get out of control for the PTI government. With media already on the chop, opposition pushed to the wall, the last thing PTI government can afford is a hot summer full of peoples’ sufferings. Hard rain gonna fall or not, we shall see sooner rather than later.