News Analysis |
Jailed former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed party leaders to continue protest against alleged rigging on Election Day – July 25.
In the current circumstances, especially after the controversial RTS failure on the Election Day, the best bet for Nawaz is to make an alliance with other parties to make life difficult for Khan’s next government.
The supreme leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) sent the message to his party leaders and workers from Adiala jail, where he is serving the 10-year sentence for corruption in the Avenfield corruption case.
The grand meeting of Nawaz with party leaders and family was arranged in a conference hall adjacent to the jail superintendent’s office.
Read more: Is Nawaz Sharif a traitor?
Ousted PM met his party leaders prior to the third All Parties Conference (APC) in Islamabad. PML-N along with PPP and MMA has been mulling ways to counter Imran Khan. Nawaz directed his party leaders to formulate a joint strategy with other opposition parties.
Grand opposition alliance has accused the military establishment of the worst kind of rigging, to pave way for Imran’s PTI.
Nawaz also continued the same rhetoric. He claims that people’s mandate has been stolen in the elections.
After consultation with the Supreme leader, PML-N made a massive U-turn and decided to make a grand coalition with PPP. PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif had loathed, ridiculed and condemned PPP in the run-up to the general elections over corruption. PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had observed, that “no matter what happens, there will no alliance with PML-N.”
The grand meeting of Nawaz with party leaders and family was arranged in a conference hall adjacent to the jail superintendent’s office.
But, PTI’s emergence as a single largest party and defeat of big names has jolted these established status quo parties. Imran may have broken the status quo, but he himself became part of status quo after conceding and compromising on his principles to make the government with the help of PML-Q, MQM-P, and independent-elects.
Read more: Nawaz Sharif can destroy country for personal interest, claims Imran
The grand opposition alliance is making efforts to somehow spoil the party and defeat Khan in PM voting. PTI has claimed that it has achieved the ‘magic number’ of 138 out of 272 to form the government in the Centre and is in pole position to elect Imran as the PM of the country. While, on the other hand, Grand opposition alliance also believes that they have the numbers to defeat Khan in PM elections.
PPP is skeptical of future. Imran’s decision to reform and empower the accountability institutions can put all the crooks in the status quo parties in serious trouble. Nawaz is already in jail and there is no sign of any deal as for now. Two references are already in Accountability Court, which arguably carries even more pertinent proofs of his alleged corruption. In the current circumstances, especially after the controversial RTS failure on the Election Day, the best bet for Nawaz is to make an alliance with other parties to make life difficult for Khan’s next government. If these parties had grit and resolve to play a real opposition, the last decade would not have been wasted. The government and opposition in turns failed to deliver and is the very reason for the current economic turmoil of the country. Will this grand opposition alliance make it even worse, only time will tell?