Main opposition parties mull by-election alliance Internews Islamabad
After going separate ways during the recent election for the key offices of prime minister and president, the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) are now considering joining hands for the coming by-elections.
A PML-N delegation, headed by Opposition Leader in the Senate Raja Zafarul Haq, has met PPP secretary-general Nayyar Bokhari at his residence here and conveyed a message from the PML-N leadership that the two parties must work together from the platform of joint opposition within and without the parliament.
Bokhari said that the two sides discussed the possibility of fielding joint candidates in next month’s by-elections, to be held in 11 constituencies of the National Assembly and 26 of the provincial assemblies.
These seats have fallen vacant due to different reasons, including resignations by those elected on more than one seat, and the death of some contesting candidates.
Bokhari said they had discussed various options and proposals, but he declined to provide details, explaining that he could not do so before discussing them with his party’s leadership.
He said that the PML-N leaders had also sought time so that they could consult their leadership.
In reply to a question, the PPP leader said that co-operation between the two parties would not be limited to two or three seats, and that they would have to agree on a formula for all the constituencies.
Asked if the PML-N delegation had conveyed any message from supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, Bokhari said: “The message was simple: that we should work as joint opposition inside and outside parliament, to give the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government a tough time.”
He expressed the hope that there would be more meetings between the two parties in a few days and said that not only the PML-N, but other opposition parties would also be taken on board, if they (the PPP and PML-N) reach consensus.
Similarly, when contacted, the PML-N’s Raja Zafarul Haq said that the two sides had agreed to improve co-ordination and co-operation with a view to playing an effective role of opposition.
Sources said that the main purpose of the PML-N’s delegation’s visit was to seek co-operation on two National Assembly seats: NA-53 Islamabad and NA-60 Rawalpindi.
The sources said that PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif was en route to Islamabad, after which contacts between the country’s two major parties are expected to increase.
PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is also expected to be present in the capital as the National Assembly is in session.
It is the first direct and formal contact between the two parties after the September 4 presidential elections in which the PPP fielded Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan whereas the PML-N and other opposition parties nominated Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – Fazlur (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman as their joint candidate against the PTI’s Dr Arif Alvi.
Despite hectic efforts and mediation of other parties, the PML-N refused to vote for Ahsan due to his controversial remarks about the illness of Nawaz Sharif and his wife Kulsoom Nawaz, while at the same time the PPP also refused to withdraw from the race.
The failure of the opposition parties to field a joint candidate assured election victory for Alvi.
After presidential poll, the two parties began trading blame for the humiliation.
Making a direct attack, PML-N information secretary Senator Mushahidullah Khan had alleged that Zardari had damaged democracy.
He alleged that the PPP had ditched the combined opposition twice: first by refusing to vote for Shehbaz Sharif in the election for the prime minister, and then by unilaterally nominating Aitzaz Ahsan as the presidential candidate.
Another PML-N leader, Amir Muqam, was of the opinion that Prime Minister Imran Khan and Alvi should be “thankful” to Zardari for the party’s victory in the presidential election.
Similarly, when a reporter sought Zardari’s comments on the PML-N allegations, he said with his usual smile: “They are saying that Zardari has broken the opposition alliance.
“Why shouldn’t we say that Mian Sahab (Shehbaz Sharif) has never been in the opposition?”
The grand opposition alliance formed by 11 parties soon after the July 25 elections fell apart within weeks following the PPP’s refusal to vote for Shehbaz Sharif against PTI chief Imran Khan in the election of prime minister, despite agreeing on a formula during a meeting of the multiparty conference.
The PPP backed out of its commitment and asked the PML-N to replace Sharif with some other candidate, explaining that the party could not vote for him as he had made some controversial remarks against Zardari during the election campaign.