Who will lead a Long March against horse trading in Punjab?

An interesting op-ed by Asadullah Ghalib in which he appeals to the people of Punjab to start a Long March against the politics of horse trading in Punjab.

If Nawaz Sharif is a man of principles, he must not promote the culture of horse trading in Punjab by trying to break up as many members of the PML-Q as he neeeds to form his government in Punjab.


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Horsetrading can cause PA dissolution

Punjab Governor has asked Pakistan Muslim League-N to lend a hand in abolition of governor's rule through forming a coalition with any other party and warned it against horse-trading.

It may be noted that no party has a majority in Punjab Assembly. The Governor has promised to end governor's rule within 24 hours when any two parties form such a coalition. However, the Governor said, the assembly could be dissolved if horse-trading continues.

If the PML-N wanted an end to governor's rule in Punjab, it must stop horse-trading as that was against the spirit of Charter of Democracy.

Salman Taseer congratulated entire nation and Nawaz Sharif for their efforts for the restoration of the judges. He appreciated Nawaz Sharif for his democratic approach and nationalist politics as he open heartedly announced that PPP government would be allowed to complete five years in rule. The governor said he considered this approach a great change in the larger national interest.

Salman Taseer said that a new era of conciliation at federal level has started as a result of restoration of deposed judges and PPP wanted to settle all issues in Punjab with mutual understanding.

He asked Nawaz Sharif to step forward and bring back the politics to assemblies instead of roads as people were sick of confrontation. He said that both parties had promised in the Charter of Democracy (CoD) to respect the mandate of other parties.

He stressed that Governor Rule could only abolish if any two political parties having strength in Punjab Assembly after a regular alliance presented a combined candidate. He said the parties which wanted to form a government just step forward and make an alliance immediately as it was the only way to end governor's rule.

He said PML-N could form alliance with any political party of its choice.

Responding to the queries of the media persons, he said making forward-blocs in opponent political parties and horse-trading was against democratic norms and the constitution.

He said no MPA has right to defy the faith of masses and could not vote against his party.

Regarding the security and imposition of Section-144 in the province during long march, Salman Taseer said that Punjab government had been advised by the Prime Minister and the President to handle the rallies for long march with a soft hand. That was the reason no rally was tortured or stopped; protesters and participants of the march were not baton charged any where and no detentions were made; and lawyers and political workers were given a free hand. He cited the example of Shahbaz Sharif's public congregation at Gujranwala despite imposition of Section-144. Regarding Lahore tear gas incident at The Mall, the governor said the protesters started pelting stones on Police and they had to fire tear gas in return. He claimed he knew about the movement of Shahbaz Sharif but under the instructions from Islamabad he did permit Shahbaz's free shifting to Islamabad. Salman Taseer asked media men to stop speculating as to his removal as there would be no change of governor in the province and if any such plan would be on cards he himself would inform them about it.

http://www.hipakistan.com/ss/2009/03/19/news/english/horsetrading-can-cause-pa-dissolution.html

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Also read:

PML-N engaged in horse-trading in Punjab, Maneka bribed

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PML-N forward block in Punjab assembly

PML-N's house of cards slowly but surely falling apart?

PML-N forward block in Punjab assembly

Updated : Thursday March 5 , 2009 4:22:55 PM

LAHORE: The forward block of Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) in Punjab assembly have emerged claiming to get the support of 27 PML-N members. MPA Laila Muqaddas announced formulation of the body addressing a press conference. She said Sharif brothers have repeatedly changed their decisions over various political issues and “cheating the peoples of Punjab”.

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‘N’ forward bloc comes out in open with 27 members

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-N Punjab Assembly member Laila Muqaddas on Thursday came forward with a forward group and announced to support Pakistan People’s Party in the province.

Addressing a joint press conference with PPP central leader Qasim Zia here, Laila claimed to have support of 27 PML-N members in Punjab Assembly. She said Sharif brothers were playing to the gallery and that both had lost mass support.

According to sources, the father of Laila Muqaddas and PML-N Gujranwala Division president, Khizer Hayat Mangat has also joined the PPP.




Tufail Niazi - Lai Beqadran Naal Yari....



Justin Timberlake - What Goes Around, Comes Around


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Cannibalising the PMLQ

Just as the nation was trying to concentrate its mind on the financial crisis and the Balochistan earthquake, party politics has descended to its murkiest, with “forward bloc” rumours springing thick and fast in Islamabad and Lahore. In a nutshell, the former incumbent and now defeated PMLQ is at risk from splintering under the pressure of a boiling sub-surface rivalry between the federally ruling PPP and the Punjab-ruling PMLN. The PMLQ has sprung a forward bloc which is being bounced around by the two big parties, with no one emerging from the exercise covered with any glory.

The latest rumour from Islamabad, despite denials, is that Pakistan President and PPP Chief, Mr Asif Ali Zardari, is about to take the “rebels” of the PMLQ, Mr Riaz Fatiyana, Mr Ahmed Yar Hiraj and Ms Kashmala Tariq — some add Zubaida Jalal, Hamdan Bugti and Aslam Bodla — under his wing and give them ministries as reward for their perfidy. One is inclined not to credit the rumours but the fact is that there is a vocal forward bloc in the PMLQ and that it has put the nation on notice about its “availability” time and again. Their conscience tells them they can no longer remain in their old party. But that is not enough; the media attributes to them other ambitions too.

The intent of the PPP leadership can be understood as determination to consolidate the party’s majority in the parliament, especially as the coalition partner JUI is flexing muscle in the context of the developing situation in the Tribal Areas. The muscle, it should be understood, is flexed more if the majority is thin; it is more quiescent if the majority is strong and stable. But Mr Zardari is playing safe while making the promise of portfolios. The forward bloc will have to gather 24 like-minded rebels in the National Assembly to bring “an in-house change” of party leadership. His “signalling”, if it is indeed being done, can accelerate the process of splitting in the PMLQ.

Is the forward bloc obsessed with principles? From its past overtures to the PMLN it appears that it is not. Its members simply wish to be attached to a party that is in power. However, with the PMLN they have a special additional association. Many have been members of it in the past, but Mr Nawaz Sharif is not in a mood to “reconsider” his rejection of them. What is more, the PMLQ leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has tried to patch up with his old boss but with little success. It is heard that some Nawaz League hawks who desire the PPP’s fall from power have actually hobnobbed with him, only to be rejected by Mian Sahib who will have no truck with “ghaddar” members.

But flexibility is endless. The PMLQ has been Janus-faced in Punjab. If the elder Chaudhry has knocked on the door of Mian Sahib, the younger Chaudhry and former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is rumoured to be keeping his door ajar for the overtures of the PPP Punjab governor, Mr Salmaan Taseer. The idea is to challenge the PMLN in Punjab if it becomes a part of the campaign to overthrow the PPP’s dominance at the centre.

Punjab politicians are inclined to “walk” to cross the floor more readily than politicians from other parts. But Mr Nawaz Sharif has his reserves of contempt for such politicians-on-skids because he experienced a mass desertion in his party in the 1990s and will not now relent without subjecting the Chaudhrys to the humiliating conditionality of “apologising” whose wording he would probably like to decide himself. But one can’t help noticing the temptation of “forgive and forget” among the PMLN hawks who give higher priority to the task of pulling the PPP down.

The PMLQ high command is acting to postpone the cannibalisation of its party by the two big ones. It has already “readjusted” policy to spare itself the stigma of being subservient to the policies of General Pervez Musharraf. It sings a different tune now about terrorism in the Tribal Areas and has joined the parliamentary majority that puts “talks” above “operations”. It knows it can’t easily break the PPP mindset about it being a “killer party” and also knows it can’t easily placate Mr Nawaz Sharif. Its instinct is to stay alive till the next elections create space for further shuffling of interests. (Daily Times)
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Shame on you Zardari, Shame on you Shahbaz Sharif, Time to say "NO" to opportunists i.e., "Lotas"

Fatiana, Hiraj, Kashmala lining up for ministries

ISLAMABAD: Riaz Fatiyana, Ahmed Yar Hiraj and Kashmala Tariq – members of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) – are likely to be inducted in the federal cabinet as ministers, a source privy to the developments told Daily Times. President Asif Zardari invited members of a PML-Q dissident group to dinner on Thursday. An Aaj TV report said he told them he believed in political consensus and would respond to whoever contacted him in national interest. But Zardari denied he had created a ‘forward bloc’ in any party. Zardari did not announce the decision, but Aaj TV quoted him as saying that the federal cabinet ‘will be finalised soon’. “Members of the PML-Q forward bloc may get cabinet slots and the names of Riaz Fatiana and Ahmed Yar Hiraj are on top of the list,” the source said. He said the participants of the meeting discussed the political and economic situation in Pakistan and Zardari asked them for support. Fatiana, Kashmala, Sumaira Malik, Zubaida Jalal, Hamdan Bugti and Aslam Bodla were among the participants, according to various reports. The PML-Q forward bloc needs the support of 27 members to bring an in-house change. Dissidents have made unsubstantiated claims of support from 30 members. staff report (Daily Times)
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Is Nawaz Sharif a principled politician? Rauf Klasra exposes the deal (in offing) between PML-N & PML-Q. Chaudhries & Sharifs united to plunder...

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The PPP Government in the Center and the PML-N Government in the Punjab must not pursue politically motivated cases against PML-Q and its leadership

(Nazir Naji)
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Punjab’s undesirable politics of defection (i.e. Lota Politics)

Despite advice from all sane quarters, Punjab is in the grip of a power tussle. A firm arrangement is making transition to an uncertain one that is going to be haunted by court cases and general acrimony. The PMLN government wants to end the coalition with the PPP and wants its ministers out of its cabinet. Since it falls short of a majority after this exclusion, it wants the third largest party in the assembly, the PMLQ, to join it. And since it wants no truck with the leaders of the party, it is seeking defections from the ranks of the erstwhile ruling party of Pakistan.

The politics of defection — called “lota politics” by the electorate in a term of extreme contempt — is regrettably initiated through iftar parties, an abuse of the spiritual ritual of Ramazan. The iftar party thrown by the PMLN on Wednesday saw the PMLQ defectors turn up in large numbers, but not large enough to match the claims made earlier. According to one report, the PMLN had claimed that it had lured away 51 MPAs, but actually only 22 or thereabouts turned up to show that they had left their own party. Another report says the defectee “guests” were 28. Yet another says they were 34.

The PMLQ, the party that began fraying at the edges as its patron President Pervez Musharraf began to get into trouble during 2007, is being “milked” by the PMLN. But the Chaudhrys, Shujaat Hussain and Pervaiz Elahi, who lead the party claim their party has by and large resisted the move. The forward bloc that had formed earlier has performed the “double-lota” and come back into the fold, barring a few who will be proceeded against under the 14th Amendment of 1997 that unseats anyone crossing the floor. The PMLQ says the PMLN can’t show a majority in the house.

The compulsion to stage a confrontation has plunged the parties back into the arithmetic thrown up by the 2008 elections. After the elections, the PMLN was the leading party in Punjab with 110 seats, followed by the PPP with 78 seats and the PMLQ with 66 seats. There were 36 “independents” — a cover-up for permitted “lotaism” — to be had by whoever formed the government. The PMLN formed a coalition with the PPP at the centre and in Punjab; and together the two parties plus the independents reached a comfortable majority in the Punjab assembly.

Now the political stage in the province is shaky. It all began with the PPP and PMLN loathing the PMLQ in unison: the name was “Qatil” League after the assassination of Ms Bhutto. Then the PPP and the PMLN went back to loathing each other as they used to during the decade of the 1990s, Pakistan’s worst political interregnum. Now the PMLN wants to continue to hate the PMLQ and pluck its MPAs out of the opposition while the PPP wants to negotiate with the PMLQ leadership and kick the PMLN out of government in Lahore.

The PMLN and PMLQ are really an old party that bifurcated in 1999 and fought the 2002 election under the name of Quaid-e-Azam. While the PMLN was in the wilderness till 2008, the PMLQ ruled the country. Now is the time for the defectees of 2002 to do a “double-lota”, as was witnessed when the PML government was fired by the president in 1993. Fearing this possibility again the PML amended the Constitution to punish the floor-crossers. It was perhaps an over-correction and stands today as the most punitive clause for politicians in the Constitution. It is recoiling on the framers of the Amendment, which was actually held in abeyance by President Musharraf to facilitate defections from the PML. The 14th Amendment (1997) is quite strict. It has the following sub-clauses defining defectors that the law would unseat: (a) [Anyone who] commits a breach of party discipline which means a violation of the party constitution, code of conduct and declared policies, or (b) votes contrary to any direction issued by the Parliamentary Party to which he belongs, or (c) abstains from voting in the House against party policy in relation to any bill.

In India, defection is allowed if it is by a bloc comprising one-third of the party strength in the house. Perhaps that is why the name “forward bloc” has regained currency in Pakistan after the 14th Amendment. The two mainstream parties have landed themselves in another embarrassing situation. Instead of cooperating, as earlier pledged, they have now taken the path of confrontation. And if Punjab is destabilised, it means nothing will work smoothly in the country. (Daily Times).
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