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.
This is alright.
It’s great that a political party in Pakistan took a stand and went out of the government. The reinstatement of judges might not be the first priority of the government. It is not unusual. It is okay to pursue one’s own agenda honestly.
Afterall, people of pakistan showed clearly that they wanted to take things in their hands. If people do not move behind the lawyers or behind PML-N, it would mean that perhaps they themselves have other priorities and judges reinstatement issue does not touche them so much.
The democracy has to be practised.
For a change, a politician with power stood steadfast by his commitment eventhough that meant losing power (apparently).
Hats off to Nawaz Sharif.
This is sad – in politics one needs to show political maturity when joining hands with others – hinging coalition on just one point aganeda was bound to be a faliure. While the country is plagued with many other urgent issues, which required everyone to sit together and to redress the grievances of comman man, quitting for very personal gains was sad.
Let the wisdom prevail rather than emotions
NAWAZ SHARIF and SHABAZ SHARIF should now find a big rock and crawl under it!
Independence of Judiciary? YES!
Reinstatement of a retired judge (whose reinstatement sole beneficiary would be the Sharif brothers) became a false prophet just because of his timing! ABSOLUTELY NO!
Politics is a heartless, spineless and soulless profession where the ONLY objective is survival! Zardari is good at it! Nawaz and Shabaz SUCK at it because their level of politics has not even caused a dent in the Presidency! They bark day in and day out at the President and yet and rightly so the Presidency does not even respond (bhonkanay valay kuttay sif bhonktay hain!)
MUSHARRAF (who is a far better politician and a thinking man then all of these elected goof’s combined) is going to stay whether the likes of the Kala Kot Vala’s and the Nawaz Sharif likes it or not! Zardari will simply take over where the Chaudary’s left!
Soon the reality will dawn and things will go on as per master plan without the vengeful Sharif’s having any part to play in it either now or in the future!
Ali, I share your concern about secrecy in Pakistan politics. They have these closed-door meetings in locations like Murree, Dubai, and London in order to strike a “deal.” We don’t even know what the propoposal was and why it didnt’ work out, and who had issues with it. This makes so much easier for thugs like Zardari to get away with these things.