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Bani Gala

No Early Election Please!

No single political party in Pakistan is in a position to form a government on its own. Thus, a coalition government based on the PML-N, PPP and other parties, is the only solution.

By S.R.H. Hashmi | July 2022

The Shahbaz Sharif-led coalition government in the centre and the one in Punjab, headed by his son have, within their fold, nearly all political parties – small and large - present in the parliament. Of course, the one big exception is PTI, led by Imran Khan, which has resigned from the National Assembly after the no-confidence motion. The real force behind the move to oust the PTI government was the Pakistan Peoples Party with Asif Zardari being the catalyst. And while Asif Zardari may have some ideas about the developing situation, the PML-N and other parties in the coalition did not seem to have any concrete plans as to what to do next. In fact, even within the PML-N, the opinion was divided, with Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz opposed to the idea of PML-N taking over the government by forming a coalition at a time when the country’s economy was in dire straits. Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman also said ‘We want autumn to go, irrespective of whether spring comes or not. In fact, many of the coalition partners favoured going for early election, except the Pakistan Peoples Party of course, which had its government in Sindh already, and did not expect to gain much in case of early elections.

However, Shahbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz might be seeing in the situation once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and maybe, Asif Zardari addressing Shahbaz Sharif as “Prime Minister’ further ‘encouraged’ this view. Conversely, Imran Khan was, and still is all for the earliest possible elections. Perhaps the outpouring of sympathy for him from his supporters on being ousted from the government, allegedly through what he calls an American conspiracy, plus his continued defiance of America, has bolstered his image among his followers, making him believe that an early election will bring him a landslide victory.

However, a saner approach would be that in view of the precarious financial position of the country, formation of a lame-duck caretaker government now for holding fresh election will lead to a rather long period of uncertainty that the country could ill afford. Also, with Imran Khan’s experiment failing bitterly, and no single party in Pakistan being in a position to form a government on its own, a coalition government comprising the PML-N and PPP, together with other parties, is the only sensible solution, despite the extremely tainted reputation of the major party heads.

The only consolation is that these two parties have some capable persons who could arrest the decay and stabilize the economy during the remainder of the five-year term. As for corruption, it could be dealt with gradually by continuing the process of accountability, reinforced with the help of the establishment and the superior judiciary. Two news reports on the front page of Dawn of June 4, titled ‘ISI given legal cover to screen government officials’ and ‘No extraneous influences on choice of NAB chief, SC warns’ are quite reassuring. The former report gives the ISI the responsibility of screening civil servants before their induction, appointment, posting and promotion. In fact, a campaign had already been started to neutralize the near-maturity corruption cases against prominent politicians by transferring key officials and taking other measures which would result in defanging the accountability process. We should be thankful to the authorities for taking appropriate and timely action to stop the corruption-friendly campaign.


With the PTI experience having failed, we are back to the traditional parties - PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party. But whether we like it or not, we have to make do with whatever is available, picking the best from the available lot. Having been in government for decades, these parties do have some capable people. With powerful sectors keeping a close watch, and a reinforced accountability process gradually ridding the system of corrupt-to-the-core elements, we can get the system to work in a reasonably satisfactory manner. With the adventurous path last taken ending with bitter disappointment, we can’t afford to embark on another adventure in the form of a reformed PTI or something similar.

A PTI stalwart Shafqat Mehmood has resigned as central Punjab president of the party, ostensibly for health reasons. The way things are going, it won’t be long before Imran Khan finds that, among leaders, he is left only with those who can find nothing better to do.

However, while the opposition to the coalition government by way of PTI seems to be petering out, all is not well for it, especially in Punjab. Getting their own governor is at least one success for the coalition government. Moreover, a sitting government is in a much better position at the centre and in Punjab as compared to the PTI, which is clearly in disarray. So, with decades of their experience in wheeling and dealing, the Shahbaz Sharif government is likely to survive any onslaught. The Punjab coalition government is also likely to survive, even in case of a fresh vote-count and, enjoying the advantage of being a sitting government, it may consolidate its position further after by-elections scheduled for July 17.

There is absolutely no doubt that being the most experienced parties and having been in government for decades, a coalition government with PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party as the major partners, is best-placed to take the country out of its present state of near-collapsing economy. However, this should not result in ‘burying’ the maturing corruption cases against them. Instead, the cases should be taken to their logical conclusion. This would create space for capable persons with better levels of integrity to come to the top and, over time, to raise the performance levels of the government both in capability and integrity. The state of bad governance, coupled with loot and plunder, must not be allowed to continue under cover of fancy slogans. It is time to say “Enough is enough” and to make a serious start in the right direction, even offering ‘plea-bargains to avoid throwing good money after bad through faulty investigation and prosecution.

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