Mr Nawaz Sharif is behaving like a spoilt child. Having spent over a decade in office, he is unable to cope with life in opposition. The leader of the opposition did not attend the oath-taking ceremonies of the new prime minister or president of Pakistan. That is bad form indeed.
Worse, Mr Sharif is not a graceful loser. He seems to be opposing government for the sake of opposition. He refused to accept Nawabzada Nasrullah as a consensus presidential candidate when the Nawabzada’s name (among others) was suggested by Ms Benazir Bhutto three weeks ago. Yet, on the eve of the presidential election, when defeat was staring him in the face, he was ready to ditch Mr Wasim Sajjad and back the Nawabzada. He did so not because he genuinely thought the Nawabzada might win but because he hoped to drive a wedge between the ruling coalition alliance in the event that he lost. Fortunately, Nawab Akbar Bugti and Mr Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi counselled otherwise and the Nawabzada escaped being trapped in a web of conspiracies. Such thoughts must rankle with Ms Benazir Bhutto even as she rejoices over her recent victories.
Mr Sharif’s response to three other issues over which there is societal consensus is worrying. Mr Moeen Qureshi’s caretaker government passed 30 ordinances of varying significance. Ms Bhutto would like to enact these as Acts of Parliament. She can do so on the basis of the simple parliamentary majority which she enjoys. No, threatens Mr Sharif, “we will walk out if the government tries to push them through”. What is the point of being so belligerent, we wonder.
Ms Bhutto also wants to repeal certain sections of the 8th amendment. Surely, Mr Sharif should have no objection to this. All year long, he has been thundering against its unjust provisions and crying himself hoarse about his commitment to democracy. Also, he must know that with Mr Farooq Leghari as President, Ms Bhutto can now appoint provincial Governors and Supreme Court judges at will. Nor does the prime minister have to worry about being dismissed under article 58 (2-B) anymore, given the Supreme Court’s strong verdict against it. Under the circumstances, an agreement to get rid of the president’s powers in these respects can be achieved in one minute flat. Why then should Mr Sharif insist upon discussing “each and every clause of the 8th amendment” in a tiresome, drawn-out process before he gives his seal of approval?
In the matter of the 35 women’s seats in the Senate and National Asembly, Mr Sharif’s approach reflects a dog-in-the-manger policy. When he was prime minister not so long ago, Mr Sharif could have restored these seats in less than the 35 minutes it took him to pass the controversial 12th amendment. He didn’t do so probably because he didn’t want to antagonise his obscurantist partners at the time. But what’s the problem now? Mr Sharif has bluntly told Qazi Hussain Ahmad to go and jump in a lake. Maulana Sattar Niazi has been wiped out in the elections. Senator Sami ul Haq remains a nobody. Maulana Fazlur Rahman is now Ms Bhutto’s headache, not Mr Sharif’s. The PML-N manifesto commits itself to the proposal loud and clear. His new proposal that there should be 40 special electoral constituencies for women is an ingenious afterthought to deflect public criticism of his foot-dragging over the issue.
There can only be one explanation for Mr Sharif’s dogged resistance on all these issues: to try and draw out the process of negotiation, clause by useless clause, in the hope of thwarting Ms Bhutto from making good on her commitments. Mr Sharif’s strategy is to erect stumbling blocks for Ms Bhutto and create an impression of incompetence in Islamabad. At best, this is a cheap form of filibustering; at worst, it is a bloody-minded game plan to fuel instability.
The prime minister, however, is bending over backwards to appease Mr Sharif. She has advised her Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Dr Sher Afghan, to “negotiate with the opposition” before moving the various bills in parliament. She is also holding back the appointment of the strong and silent Chaudhry Altaf Hussain as Governor of Punjab because she thinks it might signal an aggressive move on her part and further provoke Mr Sharif. In our view, this is misplaced concreteness. Mr Sharif is not likely to change his spots. The PM should send Ch Altaf to the Punjab immediately and order Dr Sher Afghan to get on with life.
Pakistan desperately craves stability. This can best be achieved by various confidence-building measures between government and opposition. An agreement to ratify the 30 ordinances and restore the women’s seats is ideally suited for this purpose because these are not controversial issues. By so doing, both sides will restore the peoples’ faith in their leaders and make the political system credible. If Mr Nawaz Sharif can stop sulking and help Ms Bhutto clean up the mess of the last two decades, maybe we can settle down to a period of dull, boring politics. God knows we deserve it.