ISLAMABAD   -  The major opposition parties are hardly ready to challenge the government during the upcoming budget session as they remain at loggerheads. The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has ousted the Pakistan People’s Party and the Awami National Party from its ranks much before it could force the government out.

The PDM was formed to put pressure on the government to go home but even during its honeymoon period, the alliance differed on how to go about it. The differences were initially downplayed by the partners but slowly reached the point of no return. 

The PDM kept waiting for the PPP and ANP’s replies to the show cause notices and both the parties optimistically expected the PDM to appologise to them. The past between the PPP and the PML-N has not been very worth remembering. They have tried to become friends at times but failed in every bid. Interestingly, the PML-N also remained a junior partner of the PPP-led government in 2008 but quit within weeks. 

Things remained hot and cold thereafter. And as the PML-N got bitter, PPP co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, the then President, announced to shun his reconciliation policy. There was a war of words until Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf won the 2018 elections. This gave the PPP and the PML-N a chance to reunite against a common opponent. They reluctantly started background meetings. Then some open meetings followed and soon they reunited under the PDM banner. Surprisingly, they did not even finalize the rules in haste and started quarrelling on how to ‘send the government packing.’

The PPP is for a more democratic way. They want to start with a no-confidence motion against Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and after getting rid of him, concentrate on removing Prime Minister Imran Khan. The PML-N is pushing for an assault by quitting the assemblies in one go to force a new election.

The PML-N and its ally, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), can easily afford this option as they are in the opposition in all the provinces and the centre. The PPP leads a provincial government in Sindh and would not want to lose it.

The taunts between the PPP and the PML-N have now turned into attacks and both the parties, as per the history, have parted ways. 

Yesterday, PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that both PPP and ANP had resigned from the positions in the PDM and “we never desired to rejoin it.”

He said the two parties were still following the action plan of the PDM which was to oppose the government through political struggle within the parliament and outside the parliament. 

“The option within the parliament was not used and which was to bring no-confidence motion against the government. However, the PDM is still following the policy of the PPP. The PDM has not resigned from the parliaments and they are also talking about opposing the government in the parliament,” he pointed out.

Bilawal claimed the PDM had no future strategy and clarity. “We want to have a joint opposition strategy in the parliament and oppose the upcoming budget. It would have been better, had we implemented the action plan together and used the parliamentary option. There is no point in joining the PDM unless they came back to the action plan.”

Prior to Bilawal’s words, the PDM leadership decided to go ahead with the future protest strategy against the government without the PPP and the ANP. 

PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and PML-N leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Maryam Nawaz, Ahsan Iqbal and others prevailed – spoiling the efforts of the PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif who was making last ditch efforts to placate the PPP and the ANP. “We did not even discuss the PPP and ANP and as they are no longer part of the PDM,” Maulana Fazlur Rehman said about the weekend’s meeting.

Maryam Nawaz went further saying the PDM was totally independent in decision-making and Shehbaz Sharif was bound to fulfil his responsibility as the opposition leader. The PDM has decided to stage public meetings after the presentation of the budget, likely in mid-June. A public meeting will be held in Swat on July 4, in Karachi on July 29 while a grand event would be held in Islamabad on August 14. Commenting on the developments, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bokhari said the PDM alliance without the PPP and the ANP would be toothless.

He said the resignations issue was never discussed in any meeting of PDM. “The announcement of resignations was a unilateral announcement by two like-minded parties,” he alleged, citing the PML-N and the JUI-F. He said ‘self-made’ decisions of the two like-minded parties harmed the PDM goals and objectives. “The PPP is fully committed to the PDM Charter and Action Plan. Because of the attitude of Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Maryam Nawaz, the PPP did not talk. Nor will there be any talks with PDM representative Shahbaz Sharif,” he added. Bokhari questioned why more than 160 members of PML-N in the Punjab Assembly did not resign. “Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Maryam Nawaz do not want to send the present rulers home,” he claimed.