Addressing a public meeting on the 40th dearth anniversary of the founder of PPP and former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto at Ghari Khuda Baksh, ex President Asif Zardari warned to oust the present government if it does not mend its ways. In a threatening tone he said that time has come to expel the incumbent government from the corridors of power and the party workers should remain prepared to his call of march on Islamabad.
Jamiate-e-Ulema Islam (F) Central Amir Maulana Fazalu Rehman is already in the agitation mode and has led protest rallies in different cities of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and Punjab, threatening million march in Islamabad to paralyze the federal government. Although PML-N leadership is currently keeping low profile for the timbering but it is critical of the policies of government. The opposition parties did not give positive response to attend the consultative meeting called by the government to adopt a joint line of action with consensus for the implementation of National Action Plan. It reflects myopic attitude on national interest and giving preference to vested interest over it.
PPP leadership scathing critique of regressive fiscal measures is justified as these measures have pent up inflation and led to high prices spiral of not only consumers’ goods of daily consumption but of life saving medicines as well. Without focusing on measures of booting productivity and augmenting supply, recourse is being taken to administrative measures of price control. Hoarding and overcharging of perishable goods of daily consumption like vegetables, fruits, and fresh milk is not possible. The government has decided to amend law to break cartels and monopolies, ignoring the bitter truth that certain leaders of the ruling party are also part and parcel of the strong cartels dealing in sugar, packed milk, rice, wheat flour, livestock, poultry, fisheries and pulses. It is because of this reason that Competition Commission of Pakistan which remained redundant in the previous two governments is still not fully functional.
Prime Minster’s remarks against the impact of 18th Amendment on federation at Gotki public meeting has given credence to propaganda of PPP and ethnic regional parties that the government wants to scrap this legislation for which two-third majority in both houses of the parliament is required. Some political analysts and legal experts are of the view that clauses which strip off the federal government powers to impose Governor Rule in a federating unit without the approval of provincial legislature in the wake of either constitutional crisis and mandatory signing of summary by the Chief Minister for deployment federal civil armed forces to restore law and order in a province are in conflict with federal structure of the constitution. Helplessness of the federal government to deploy Pakistan Rangers to control previous wave of lawlessness in Karachi gives credence to this opinion.
Because of war mongering of Indian government, the situation on the eastern border is tense and the country cannot afford the politics of agitation. Moreover, war against terrorism is not yet over. It would be worthwhile that politicians who are facing probe like mega money laundering case through fake bank accounts or facing enquires in NAB on the charges of corrupt practices should face the law of the land instead of hurling threats of taking to streets.
