National Government

Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Shahbaz Sharif’s idea about formation of a national government in Pakistan that may resolve the insurmountable challenges faced by the country has stirred a new debate, that whether he has extended an olive branch to the government contrary to his party’s position?

During a visit to Karachi, the Opposition Leader said, “Frankly I am telling you that sometimes when I look at these huge problems and challenges, I feel convinced that it’s not possible for one party alone [to fix them]. It needs collective wisdom. It requires collective efforts. That’s why I think we should have a national government in place to sort out these huge tasks.… but for me it’s crucial. Even if we [PML-N] win a majority, we can’t fix it alone.”

The PML-N president is believed to have a pragmatic approach towards politics in Pakistan. He has always been accommodative to his political opponents as well as flexible towards the Establishment. Besides, he has a lenient approach towards the incumbent PTI government, which is totally different from Nawaz Sharif’s narrative as he is bent on oustinng the PTI government. In the latter’s opinion, the establishment staged a bigger scheme to bring the PTI into power and got the PML-N leader declared as ineligible for lifetime to contest the elections.

PML-N spokesperson Marium Aurangzab negated the opinion of Shahbaz Sharif and dubbed it as his personal opinion. She said, “The [PML-N] president made a passing remark that if the people of Pakistan by the grace of God Almighty gave the PML-N the responsibility to govern again after the next elections, in his personal view he would not mind inviting other political parties, excluding the PTI, to contribute towards solving the massive crisis created by the Imran Khan government over their disastrous tenure.”

These two opinions reflect that there is an on-going tug-of-war between the Nawaz Sharif camp led by Mariam Nawaz and the party president Shahbaz Sharif. Mariam Nawaz wants to spearhead a campaign to dislodge the Imran Khan government under the banner of, now nearly-defunct, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). On the flip side, Shahbaz Sharif wants the government to continue and he does not want to be the part of any anti-government movement. He believes that if not in 2018 then in the very next election his party may form the government and let democracy flourish though in a weakened form. Otherwise, if an anti-government campaign is initiated, it may lead to circumstances of the 1970s wherein neither the PTI, nor the PML-N would get the chance of running the affairs of the state. He considers it a dangerous path.

He believes if the PML-N has to regain the status of a political party of national stature, it has to mend fences with the powers that be, otherwise the party will vanish into oblivion over time.
Ironically, the PML-N president’s suggestion for a national government, inclusive of all the political stakeholders in view of broader national interests, may not be practically possible due to the different party positions. However, it indicates the fact that the Opposition Leader is ready and willing to work with the government to tackle the national challenges of grave magnitude. The government must welcome this offer and take the initiative of working together and shun the rigid attitude that the PTI government has adopted since it came to power.

If not the national government, at least the two sides may come together and hammer out a national plan of action to confront the challenges at the domestic as well as international front. Shahbaz Sharif rightly said that, “From now onwards, it would take years to get things fixed. Whether it’s the economy, internal security, social sector reforms or foreign policy, they all need consistent and collective efforts from every true democratic force.” The PTI-led government must seize this opportunity and invite the opposition parties for working on a plan to put the country on the right track.

For that purpose, there is a wider scope for the two sides to work together on national issues. As the Opposition and the treasury benches scrupulously and unanimously prepared the draft of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, likewise they can come together and prepare a Charter of Good Governance (CGG). This charter must address the issues of poor governance in Pakistan and take remedial measures accordingly. Secondly, the Charter of National Economic Independence (CNEI) must be the top-most priority to address the economic fault-lines such as trade deficit, how to retire mounting debt and liabilities accounting Rs.45 trillion, equitable distribution of taxes and resources between the federation and the provinces, circular debt, and other economic woes. Thirdly, this huddle must also discuss, debate and formulate the Charter of National Security (CNS) regarding the internal and external security in view of the new emerging regional and global geo-political dynamics such as the Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan, Sino-US rivalry, post-August 2019 India-Pakistan relations, and the future of CPEC as a transit route.

It is high time that the political stakeholders rise above divisive politics on issues of national importance. Now that the leader of the Opposition has offered a proposal for working together, the government must show leadership and welcome the move for joint efforts on issues of a serious nature.