After having briefly “united” against the “threat” posed by Imran Khan, Pakistan’s two main political parties—the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)—have returned to their traditional political rivalry ahead of the general elections.
The instigator is the PPP, whose leadership has accused the Sharifs of abandoning their slogan of “respect the vote” and urged them to stop “hiding behind institutions.” The PMLN, by contrast, has brushed aside the criticism as little more than a “political stunt.” The primarily one-sided back-and-forth hints at the political morass the country will see unfold as the election campaign ramps up.
The PPP’s aim is to expand beyond its Sindh stronghold, especially into Punjab, which first brought it to power under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Based on recent remarks of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the party clearly feels the security establishment is backing the PMLN, a view it feels is bolstered by the Sharifs’ recent forays into Sindh. The PMLN, meanwhile, sees an easing of state pressure on it as a “course correction” after the efforts expended to oust it from politics in 2017.
Positioning itself as an “independent” party not beholden to establishment facilitation is clearly a political tactic of the PPP to woo anti-establishment voters. Unfortunately, in this attempt it is feeding the societal polarization that has already been brought to a boil by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), with no apparent plan on how to reduce it once the elections are done. What Pakistan needs most at this time is stability—economic, political, security—and this requires all stakeholders to take a step back, adopt a “code of conduct” for polls that shuns defamatory politics in exchange for policy criticisms, and focuses on uniting, rather than dividing the general public.