Moonis Elahi “should be” the next Chief Minister of Punjab…
Saturday, 28 Feb, 2009 | 05:22 AM PST |
LAHORE: Three days after imposition of the governor’s rule in Punjab, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is yet to come up with a feasible plan to form its government in the province.
All that it has been able to conjure up so far is meek voices that have been drowned by the emotional chorus whipped up by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on the disqualification of its leaders and fall of its government in the province.
Governor Salmaan Taseer, who had predicted formation of a PPP government in Punjab – the first in more than 30 years – long before the Supreme Court verdict against the Sharif brothers, never tired of giving controversial statements till taking charge as the chief executive of Punjab but he is nowhere to be seen or heard now.
His aides told Dawn that the governor was ‘busy in urgent administrative and other official matters relating to provincial government’.
PPP leader Tanvir Ashraf Kaira claimed at a press conference on Friday that his party was going to form the next provincial government. But he appeared to have no clue as to who was going to be the PPP’s candidate for the chief minister’s post. Nor did he say how the party planned to go about forming the government.
Earlier, PPP parliamentary party leader Raja Riaz had said that the party leadership was in contact with all political forces represented in the provincial assembly – including the PML-Q, some PML-N dissidents, the PML-F and the MMA.
If the former senior minister in the Shahbaz Sharif government were to be believed, the PPP should have finalised arrangements for forming a coalition with the PML-Q, the party holding the balance in Punjab.
PML-Q information secretary Tariq Azeem appeared to suggest to the contrary when he said a majority within his party felt that the PPP had violated the popular mandate by imposing the governor’s rule in the province.
‘The feeling in the party is that it would negate the spirit of democracy to side against the popular mandate,’ he said while talking to Dawn from Islamabad by telephone.
At the same time, he said it would be premature to say what position his party would take. ‘It’s a crucial issue and will be taken up by the party leadership at its central executive committee meeting next week. None of our leaders, including Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, has taken a definitive stance on whether to side with the PPP or the PML-N (when the provincial assembly elects the leader of the house).’
The PML-Q’s ‘indecisiveness’ is popularly being interpreted as its efforts to raise the stakes in the power game in Punjab. It is believed that the PML-Q is demanding chief minister’s post for Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s son, Moonis Elahi, or Senate chairmanship for Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and the defence ministry.
But Mian Atta Mohammad Maneka, the leader of dissident PML-Q members of the Punjab Assembly is supporting the PML-N ‘unconditionally’. ‘
We have no demands or conditions. If the need arises, the Unification Group (the name of the PML-Q forward block in the Punjab Assembly) will side by the PML-N for the formation of its government,’ he told reporters after attending the Punjab PML-N parliamentary party meeting at the Sharif’s Raiwind Estate.
Maneka claimed that 35 PML-Q legislators, out of a total of 85, were supporting the PML-N and 33 had attended the meeting. The remaining two could not come as one of them was in France and the other could not be informed about the meeting.
The claim, however, could not be verified independently. Some of the PML-Q dissidents later participated in the protest against the governor’s rule outside the Punjab Assembly under the leadership of Shahbaz Sharif.
He claimed that no PML-Q leader or legislator favoured an alliance with the PPP. ‘Only Pervaiz Elahi wants it to win chief minister’s post for his son.’
The dissident PML-Q leader, who was critical of the PPP for imposing the governor’s rule, said the survival of the federation without Punjab was difficult. To a question, he said the Unification Group was not afraid of the threats of disqualification for voting for the PML-N, ruling out the remotest possibility of going with his party if its leadership decided to cooperate with the PPP.
The participation of the PML-Q dissidents and PML-F legislators in a meeting led PML-N Rana Sanaullah to claim that his party had support of 217 legislators. It needed only 186 votes to win the election of the leader of the house.
‘We have numerical strength to form our government whenever the assembly session is convened. Nobody should doubt it,’ he said, adding the PPP would not have imposed the governor’s rule if it could muster the support of the required number of legislators to install its government.
It may be recalled that the PML-N’s candidate Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui had secured 201 votes from Punjab in the presidential elections in September last year.
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Abbas Ather’s analysis and a ‘free of charge advice’
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A sincere advice by Ataul Haq Qasmi
Some relevant comments:
Sharif’s can’t sustain an agitation in absence of favorable govt, bureaucracy, army and courts. They have either shown their muscles when they had power behind them or have opted for fleeing out of country. This time it seems, they will fizzle out in months.
In all honesty, I see them marginalized in next elections to even fewer districts and vultures like Imran Khan will be happy in their heart at their demise. Their best bet to be flexible and be part of the system and negotiate a middle way with PPP. Else they will lose all…. They should be part of the system and wait for their moment – that’s the only chance they have…. Lawyers, Imran Khan etc have nothing to lose – Sharif’s have a lot to lose.
My sincere advice for PML(N) is that they should just not only say but show; first of all they must tell their followers that they should not destroy public and private property, they can protest but why should they damage their own assests, it is not AZ’s or someone else’s property.
Rampaging the courts and their disrespect, tradition has been started by no one but PML(N), and now no court seems to be the pillar of the state. When PML(N) comes in power they will do similar or worse. Both the parties have been well tried out.
@Pakistanthinks
Sharifs have already lost all of what they have. Nawaz shahbaz cnnot contest elections, nawaz cannot become prime minister for third time, shahbaz has now by default lost the opportunity to become CM for third time.
If they want to be in the major helm of affairs now they will be needing a constitutional ammendment by the Parliament. This is the only way for which they are protesting too much and are trying to bring government to that.
Have not you heard Mian Nawaz sharief saying that If this issue is not resolved, they will extend the protests and de-stababilization all acroos the country. I think he gave his clear message to zardari.
Nawaz sharif has played wrong. i agree with Zardari’s statemtent that if Sharief’s would have talked to him rather than going for turmoil, they could have sorted out some way to end this situation.
I dont know why Mian sb is playing in the hands of lawyers and Imran khan type of people. He must have realised that PML N has its own rules of the games and it must not be swayed by any of such elements who want a clash just for their own sake.
BY the way PML Q is playing a very mature role. They asked zardari to come to their home rather than chaudhries going to zardari. Mushahid is amazingly saying that they are just observors as they are not interested to form goverment and that the mendate of PML N must be respected. WOW 
Nawaz must not play in the hands of those who even dont have a seat in any of the assemblies. They are playing at the hands of hidden forces and want Mian nawaz sharief to be out of the game of politics and Bhuttos are out of it.
Mian needs to recognize such people, good or bad but its the reality that Shariefs have to go with Zardari and Zardari has to go with Shariefs no matter either of them is in government or opposition.
Nawaz Sb hosh say kaam lain josh say nahin.
By the way Mian sb is too innocent. IF the decision would have been in his favour for him Zardari would have been the best person on earth. Anyhow, its great to listen from him that he is ready to talk through Parliament. Now its time for Zardari to come forward as Sharif’s are the aggrieved party.
Faarigh Jazbati said:
The biggest loss of the current political crises is not the PLMN or PPP. It is Imran khan who has been pushed to the side completely. If you look into the demographic of the voters, IK is fighting for the same voters and the center right political views.
I think IK is in a political shock and does not know how to react to the current situation. This is what you get when oneswhole politics is based upon emotional subjects/issues and devoid of any political calculation of different political scenarios.
PLMN has taken the center stage of pakistani politics and they are the one who are dictating the events. IK is sitting on the sideline only to follow the events and unable to generate/create a political reality which will/can take the focus away from the PLNM/PPP politics.
Behaviour of PTI diehards is really weird ……. If NS does not fully support Lawyers decisions, he is accused of betrayal, if he fully supports lawyers decisions he is accused of hijacking lawyer’s movement ……
So these guys should make up their mind about what they want NS to do …
But then we all know what they want…..they want NS to simply disappear some where… so that “mirza yaar can roam freely in deserted streets”…..
This reminds of an old joke …
—The son of village mirasi asked his father what would happen if the chaudhri of village dies. The elder mirasi replied that chaudhri’s son will become the next chaudhri. If chaudhri’s son also dies then, asked the junior mirasi. Then his nephew will become chaudhri, came the reply. What if the nephew also dies? asked mirasi’s son. Now the elder mirasi understood what the real question was and replied, “Son! even if the whole village dies, still you can never be a chaudhri”. —–
So my commiserations to these PTI diehards who are so used to day-dreaming….
Source: pk politics
As somebody who has supported the PPP, a secular party that stood firm against military dictatorship, it saddens me to see it reduced to its present condition. Today, Zardari enjoys vastly more power than Benazir Bhutto did in either of her two curtailed terms as prime minister. Blowing this opportunity to do some good is little short of criminal.
The noise you might hear is the laughter of the Taliban at the sight of Pakistan’s leaders playing politics as usual. The other sounds are the chuckles at GHQ.
Irfan Hussain, in Dawn, 28 February.