Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had a busy day this Wednesday. Presiding over a meeting of his parliamentary party early in the morning, later attending the busy National Assembly session where the PTI govt was busy steamrolling the cut motions as an uneasy and visibly nervous Imran Khan kept rolling prayer beads.
The young Chairman of the PPP stood on the floor and once again made a passionate plea to the Speaker and to the members of the treasury to release Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar, the incarcerated MNAs from North and South Waziristan. Neither the speaker nor the MNAs of the government side were moved. It was clear that Bilawal Bhutto spoke his mind knowing that his words were falling on deaf ears. “You are setting a dangerous precedent and it will have dangerous repercussions,” he warned.
Outside the parliament, he repeated his demand about the release of the incarcerated MNAs and dispelled the PTI’s claims that he was not attending the APC. The same day, former President Asif Zardari, generally known for his mild manners and conciliatory tone, withdrew his bail applications in the Islamabad High Court. This happened just the day after the accountability court acquitted Babar Awan in the Nandipur case. When asked if the former President had lost all hope in the judicial system, his legal counsel Farooq Naek said, “Please draw your own conclusions.”
While there is no final word in politics, so far it is becoming increasingly clear that both the PPP and the PML-N are slowly gearing up for combat mode. Earlier Hamza Shehbaz, too, had withdrawn his bail application in Lahore High Court and hence was sent to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) custody. For its part, the bureau has decided to file another set of references against Shehbaz Sharif, besides the formation of a new commission led by the NAB Deputy Chairman alongside representatives of various investigation and intelligence agencies.
It is against this backdrop that last week Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the heir apparent of the PML-N, addressed a hard hitting press conference in Lahore highlighting the worsening health of his father and blasting and ridiculing the recipe of the “Charter of Economy” in a bid to chastise the voices of reconciliation within her party. Clearly, one goal of her outburst was to make everyone realize that after her father, she was the new Sheriff in town, so to say.
At the APC, Shehbaz Sharif, the ceremonial President of the PML-N, represented his party flanked by Maryam Nawaz Sharif – proving once again the rising stock of the young leader. As if to complete the impression of a generational shift in power, Bilawal represented his party.
As predicted in this space, the panicked Prime Minister approached his coalition partners with his bags of goodies to ensure the passage of the budget. MQM has been promised a third ministry. The country’s vulnerable chief executive held another meeting with a delegation of the BNP-M led by Akhtar Mengal. Meanwhile Jehangir Tareen told journalists in the parliament that soon they would hear good news about the missing persons of Balochistan.
As things stand, the budget will be passed and there is no immediate danger to the premiership of Imran Khan. The trouble starts where the impact of the budget and slowing down economy is felt by broader sections of society. This week, on Wednesday, the dollar hit the highest mark vis-a-vis the rupee. A single greenback could now fetch more than 162 rupees in the open market. Despite the borrowing of roughly 22 billion dollars since the arrival of Imran Khan, foreign reserves in the State Bank this week were only around 7.5 billion dollars, with debt servicing payments of over 700 million dollars due by the month’s end. The biggest bad news for the common citizens this week was further jacking up of natural gas prices closer to 200 percent.
In short, even as the All Parties Conference (APC) deliberates on how to topple Imran Khan’s administration, the real challenge for the administration doesn’t come from the opposition but from its own appalling governance and the fast deterioration of the economy. As the ruling party crossed its 300 days in power, there were no signs of any improvement.
While there was consensus on the removal of the Chairman Senate, Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman’s request for an en masse resignation from the assemblies was rejected by both the PPP and the PML-N. However, a staggered mechanism was suggested by the PPP for the removal of the Chairman Senate. The PPP recommended passing a resolution against the Chairman Senate and then forcing him to resign. All this is to happen before a final vote of no confidence is moved if he doesn’t resign.
As the temperature rises, the APC on Wednesday decided to observe the 25thh of July as a “black day” to protest against what they call the massively rigged and “engineered” elections last year. They also decided to hold vigils outside the NAB offices to highlight the “selective accountability” and the alleged “witch-hunting” by the bureau.
The Maulana, of course, is itching to escalate the agitation against PM Imran Khan’s administration.
Tensions with the governing dispensation may be rising, but it appears that the leadership of both the PPP and the PML-N want to wait and see the impact of the worsening economic situation before giving a final push. An important consideration in this whole saga is the decision by Prime Minister Imran Khan to either provide an extension of tenure to the Army Chief Gen Bajwa or announce his replacement come November.
Fall will decide either the fall of Imran Khan’s administration or its longevity. In the meantime, the PTI government seems ready to cross a major way-point: passing its first formal budget.
The young Chairman of the PPP stood on the floor and once again made a passionate plea to the Speaker and to the members of the treasury to release Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar, the incarcerated MNAs from North and South Waziristan. Neither the speaker nor the MNAs of the government side were moved. It was clear that Bilawal Bhutto spoke his mind knowing that his words were falling on deaf ears. “You are setting a dangerous precedent and it will have dangerous repercussions,” he warned.
Outside the parliament, he repeated his demand about the release of the incarcerated MNAs and dispelled the PTI’s claims that he was not attending the APC. The same day, former President Asif Zardari, generally known for his mild manners and conciliatory tone, withdrew his bail applications in the Islamabad High Court. This happened just the day after the accountability court acquitted Babar Awan in the Nandipur case. When asked if the former President had lost all hope in the judicial system, his legal counsel Farooq Naek said, “Please draw your own conclusions.”
While there is no final word in politics, so far it is becoming increasingly clear that both the PPP and the PML-N are slowly gearing up for combat mode. Earlier Hamza Shehbaz, too, had withdrawn his bail application in Lahore High Court and hence was sent to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) custody. For its part, the bureau has decided to file another set of references against Shehbaz Sharif, besides the formation of a new commission led by the NAB Deputy Chairman alongside representatives of various investigation and intelligence agencies.
It is against this backdrop that last week Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the heir apparent of the PML-N, addressed a hard hitting press conference in Lahore highlighting the worsening health of his father and blasting and ridiculing the recipe of the “Charter of Economy” in a bid to chastise the voices of reconciliation within her party. Clearly, one goal of her outburst was to make everyone realize that after her father, she was the new Sheriff in town, so to say.
At the APC, Shehbaz Sharif, the ceremonial President of the PML-N, represented his party flanked by Maryam Nawaz Sharif – proving once again the rising stock of the young leader. As if to complete the impression of a generational shift in power, Bilawal represented his party.
As predicted in this space, the panicked Prime Minister approached his coalition partners with his bags of goodies to ensure the passage of the budget. MQM has been promised a third ministry. The country’s vulnerable chief executive held another meeting with a delegation of the BNP-M led by Akhtar Mengal. Meanwhile Jehangir Tareen told journalists in the parliament that soon they would hear good news about the missing persons of Balochistan.
As things stand, the budget will be passed and there is no immediate danger to the premiership of Imran Khan. The trouble starts where the impact of the budget and slowing down economy is felt by broader sections of society. This week, on Wednesday, the dollar hit the highest mark vis-a-vis the rupee. A single greenback could now fetch more than 162 rupees in the open market. Despite the borrowing of roughly 22 billion dollars since the arrival of Imran Khan, foreign reserves in the State Bank this week were only around 7.5 billion dollars, with debt servicing payments of over 700 million dollars due by the month’s end. The biggest bad news for the common citizens this week was further jacking up of natural gas prices closer to 200 percent.
In short, even as the All Parties Conference (APC) deliberates on how to topple Imran Khan’s administration, the real challenge for the administration doesn’t come from the opposition but from its own appalling governance and the fast deterioration of the economy. As the ruling party crossed its 300 days in power, there were no signs of any improvement.
While there was consensus on the removal of the Chairman Senate, Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman’s request for an en masse resignation from the assemblies was rejected by both the PPP and the PML-N. However, a staggered mechanism was suggested by the PPP for the removal of the Chairman Senate. The PPP recommended passing a resolution against the Chairman Senate and then forcing him to resign. All this is to happen before a final vote of no confidence is moved if he doesn’t resign.
As the temperature rises, the APC on Wednesday decided to observe the 25thh of July as a “black day” to protest against what they call the massively rigged and “engineered” elections last year. They also decided to hold vigils outside the NAB offices to highlight the “selective accountability” and the alleged “witch-hunting” by the bureau.
The Maulana, of course, is itching to escalate the agitation against PM Imran Khan’s administration.
Tensions with the governing dispensation may be rising, but it appears that the leadership of both the PPP and the PML-N want to wait and see the impact of the worsening economic situation before giving a final push. An important consideration in this whole saga is the decision by Prime Minister Imran Khan to either provide an extension of tenure to the Army Chief Gen Bajwa or announce his replacement come November.
Fall will decide either the fall of Imran Khan’s administration or its longevity. In the meantime, the PTI government seems ready to cross a major way-point: passing its first formal budget.