Counting the change

Orchestrated delays since the February 18 elections in Pakistan on the part of a slighted President Musharraf have marred the inception of new governments at the Centre and in the provinces. It is only today that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani will take a vote of confidence from the House, which is required under the Constitution to meet within 60 days of the premier’s election. That the vote is being held only within days of Gillani taking oath shows that the ruling coalition is ready to get on with business despite the president trying to hold back the inevitable.

True to form, Musharraf continues his doublespeak, saying that he is willing to work with the new Government while obstructing its path at the same time. The president’s resistance to the will of the people is amply evident in the inordinate delay in calling the provincial assemblies. Acting at the behest of the president, provincial governors have scheduled the convening of the legislatures much later in the day than traditionally. Only the Frontier governor was prevailed upon by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP) to call the assembly session on Friday. The Sindh governor, who belongs to the MQM, has declined the request by the PPP to convene the assembly before April 5, the date set by Musharraf. In Punjab, where the Sharifs are set to form a strong anti-Musharraf coalition government, the convening of the legislature is pushed back to April 8. The PML-N has threatened to launch street agitation against the delaying tactics if the date is not moved up to April 2 at the latest.

It can be argued that Musharraf’s tarrying is already bringing the coalition under a strain. The PML-N, for instance, has made it clear to the PPP that it will quit the government at the Centre if the MQM is offered any federal ministries — a delayed reaction to the PPP’s engagement with the Karachi-based ethnocentric party, of which the PML-N had no prior knowledge. The PPP sees it as crucial to come to an understanding with the MQM for it to be able to sail smooth in Sindh. The vote in the province is squarely divided along rural-urban lines, with the major urban centres of Karachi and Hyderabad falling to the MQM and rural Sindh voting overwhelmingly for the PPP. An understanding has been reached with the MQM to make it a coalition partner in Sindh, with the party also retaining its all-powerful governor.

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