All major media outlets are reporting that Pakistan’s two main opposition parties, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N), have announced to form the new government together. News reports also suggest this understanding has been reached at both center as well as provincial level.
The photo below shows Asif Ali Zardari shaking hands with Nawaz Sharif at a press conference after their meeting in Islamabad on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008.
According to the Daily News:
Nawaz Sharif maintained that there is no difference in the two parties on the restoration of the deposed judges. “We accept the mandate of PPP with an open heart and wish that PPP complete its five year term,” he said, adding, “struggle for restoration of judiciary will continue and CoD will also be followed.” PPP Co-Chairman, Asif Zardari said PPP and PML-N have decided to work together for democracy. However, he said, some of the matter are yet to be decided by the parties. Ali Zardari said that both the leaders have decided to stay united in the parliament. Nawaz Sharif said, ‘We fought against the dictatorship and will keep doing so.”
According to a Daily Dawn update of 23:38 hours PST
Former Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday his party would form a coalition government with the party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto after they won crucial elections. “We have agreed on a common agenda. We will work together to form the government in the centre and in the provinces,” Sharif told a joint news conference with Bhutto’s widower Asif Ali Zardari. “We will ensure that you complete a full five years’ term,” said Sharif, addressing Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)
What About the Judges?
According to Associated Press feed of 11:35 hours USA CST:
Sharif said the two parties had agreed in principle on restoration of judges purged by Musharraf when he declared emergency rule late last year — an issue that many see as a possible source of discord between the parties. “In principle there’s no disagreement on restoration of the judiciary. We will work on the modalities in parliament,” said Sharif, who has previously demanded the immediate reinstatement of the detained ex-Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.
What Do You Think?
Our question to readers is; What do you think? Is this a good move, a bad move, a hasty move or were there any alternatives that got over looked. We would like to hear from you.
References:
1. The Daily Dawn Pakistan update here
2. CNN story here
3. Associated Press story here
4. The Daily News Pakistan update here
5. The Daily Jang Pakistan update here
6. BBC story here
Photo Credits: Associated Press
Agree with Shiraz. Words have to follow actions. For the sake of the country, people must insist that Nawaz, Zardari and Musharraf find a way to work together. Any one of them alone will bring a disaster.
1. Find a solution to the problems in FATA.
2. Minimize the ethnic divide. This is one factor upon which the enemies of Pakistan are counting on, to destry it. What can the citizens do?
3. I agree that Iftikhar Ch. should be asked to retire. This is the best under the circumstances. But going forward, there should be checks and balances to never let it happen in future.
4. Democracy is not going to come overnight. One free election does make democracy. We have to be patient and let it evolve as long as we we continue to step forward and don’t slip back.
5. Again agree with Shiraz, everyone should use their influence to keep the elected representatives honest.
6. Please do not ask US for help! You will regret it. We must find a way to internally solve our problems.
I’d say that these are ethnic based voting results. NS could not win a single seat in 2 provinces and has negligible presence in NWFP. It is also interesting to note people’s claim that northern Punjab voted for NS because of NS’s stand on judiciary. Logically then the rest of the country didn’t care enough for judiciary to vote for NS!! So, nope, NS was voted by ethnic factor just as MQM, ANP, and PPP (in Sindh) were voted. By denying this we give two much credit to our wanna be Amir ul Mominoon and the voters.
That PPP managed to get votes all across the nation has to do with the ‘cult’ of a ‘Bhutto’ established since the late 60’s. But that is a dwindling vote bank: Even the epic tragedy of BB’s murder could not help her party regain the party’s erstwhile strength in Punjab; as Aitzaz Ahsan correctly concluded: There was not much of sympathy vote.
All of this would be fine except that Sindh’s three matchless leaders (counting L.Ali Khan) have been killed and so Sindh has lost competitive advantage in electoral politics. This cannot be discounted in the political milieu of Pakistan. Care must be taken not to impose upon the smaller provinces.
Finally, if NS was so ‘principled’ then he would not have betrayed his APDM partners and contested in the elections. Jamaat e Islami, the main loser, is not going to forget that for a while.
NS has the distinction of having his goons attack the Supreme Court while he was the PM. And NS has a personal vendetta against Musharraf. These two factors must be taken into account to build a context for NS’s new political stand.
@Umar Akbar:”The two most notoriously corrupt personalities in the history of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan have joined forces; pity the hungry and the poor.”
Couldn’t agree more. This election shows how polarize our nation is, PPP won Sindh, PML (N) won Punjab, Mohajar’s hold (Karachi) and ANP holds NWFP. It shows Musharraf is nothing but a victim of this polarization, or may be it is not just Musharraf, ultimately the whole Pakistan will pay the price of this polarization.
Hmmm. If one gets stuck in the 90s too much then, yes, there is not much hope for a AS-NS cooperation. But then people do change and are forced to change because of circumstances and so I have hopes for the new arrangement between PMLN-PPP.
I think both parties are concentrating on removing Mush. To Asif Ali Zardari the path is to consolidate power first–make workable govts. in Center, Sindh, Frontier and even Baluchistan first before taking on Pres. Mush. But then AAZ, other than being in prison under Mush early on, should not have too much acrimony against Mush especially if Washington can assure that Pakistani Army to keep within constitutional limits.
If the PPP and its allies manage to shut out PMLN for 5 years by joining hands with Mush+PMLQ then it will be a huge blow for NS. Since 1977 NS and/or various PML folks have enjoyed power for 25 years versus just 5 years of hampered PPP rule.
The real battleground is the midterm or the next regular elections in Punjab for which the unprincipled game of cynicism can start now. I hope that does not happen!
a few thoughts:
first, i think PMA is right above. there is minimal difference between PPP and PML, certainly not a difference based on issues or ideology.
second, why are some people still bashing mush. your saviours are now in office - go be saved!
third, the judiciary issue and not deposing mush is the primary test for the new govt. how long do we give them before we become disillusioned? i say april fools day.
fourth, there is a myth that a college education makes one a better citizen. simply not true.
finally, most of us here are armchair pakistanis. you know what i mean. go out and do something positive for your country. and stop hating yourself.
Eik Chor ne wik dako se hath milaya.
Loot Mar Shroo.
If bachelors degree was required for not just the candidates, but for voters also then i am pretty sure both the looters (Mr. 10% and Nawaz) would not even be allowed to go close to the parliament building let alone sit on the ruling party’s benches, rather they would be in some jail’s kaal kootree rotting for the rest of their lives for plundering and looting of the national exchequer.
PMA and MQ:
I think the difference may be between urban and rural constituencies. Even within rural constituencies, the situation varies depending on the extent of feudalism.
So in a place where its all about local feudal elites, idiologies are indeed totally irrelevant.
But in places where there is less feudalism, issues do matter. For example, in Islamabad, Nayyar Bukhari has remained with the PPP for quite a while now. In Pindi, Shiekh Rasheed used to regularly contest and win elections on a PML-N ticket. He was popular enough to win a seat as an independent candidate, but when he joined PML-Q, the people in the area turned against him. And now, they have voted for PML-N and defeated Shiekh Rasheed. In urban parts of Northern Punjab, one reason why PML-N won so many votes is because of its position on the judiciary. Unlike the voting pattern in a typical feudal stronghold, this is an issue based vote.
Overall, it seems that Pakistan does have enough non-feudal dominated constituencies for ideologies not to be totally irrelevant.
But yes, there are also many constituencies where ideologies are indeed irrelevant, and these places probably need to undergo a lot of socio-economic uplift before that changes.