Adil Najam
Not unexpectedly, the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz Group has decided to quit from all cabinet positions in the coalition government it had so recently formed with Asif Zardari’s PPP.
According to The News:
Following the failure of London talks on the reinstatement of judges; Pakistan Muslim League (PML)-N has decided to resign from federal cabinet in central executive committee meeting underway here. Earlier, federal ministers reached to attend the meeting without official car and other privileges. The meeting has discussed that coalition with Peoples Party was made for the restoration of deposed judges but Peoples Party has failed to fulfill its commitment therefore PML-N has decided to quit the coalition.
The report here says that they have “quit the coalition” but other rumblings suggest that they have only left the cabinet and will continue to work with the PPP on the ouster of Gen. Musharraf. That, however, remains to be seen.
Our ongoing Poll on this subject (now closed) had suggested that most people did NOT believe that the coalition woud fall just yet over the judges issue. But at least for now the news is that it has.
However, this being Pakistan everything will be spun every which way and by the time the dust settles – if it ever settles – things will nearly certainly look very different from what they do now.
So sad to see the short term mob memory striking us again, not long ago, the judiciary was far more important than any other issue and democracy (looli langri) was more cherished than a dictator even when the dictator had ‘some’ reasonable strategies.
In comes PPP, and all strategies remain unchanged, while the sole issue of judges taken down to these so-called other issues…
Not only that, they bring in controversies with Rehman Malik, Hussain Haqqani and even with local law enforcement personell like Suddle….Shame on you PPP ur just the same as your predecessor.
y not bring in a simple improvement in the judiciary and keep that improving over time rather than their once-and-for-all shananigans…
I am one of those anti-Zardari people who can now say “I told you so.” Zardari is not good for this country. People don’t change.
By the way, how will Zardari face his karachi supporters today?
Last year on this day the MQM played bloodbath with Karachi and PPP supporter and now suddenly Altaf Hussain is Zardari’s new best friend.
Wah ray wah!
Must say I am impressed by Nawaz Sharif to have taken this stand. Probably it is just politics but at least it shows some principle and even if it is wrong reason, it is the right act.
When I saw this news, my first thought, somehow, was that Musharaf is still powerful and history tells us that dictators don’t give up so easily; thats what he wanted, let the old judges stay home. It also tells us alot about PPP; all PPP wants is to keep the big bosses happy; Musharaf and the USA.