ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Monday announced a joint plan to move a no-confidence motion against the incumbent AJK government, days after ten lawmakers defected from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to join the PPP, giving it a clear parliamentary advantage.
The move, endorsed by President Asif Ali Zardari and backed by the PML-N leadership, comes amid escalating rifts within AJK’s coalition setup and growing criticism of what both parties describe as the government’s “complete failure” to deliver on governance and stability.
At a joint press conference in Islamabad, PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira, flanked by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, said, “It has been decided that the present AJK government, of which we both parties were a part, has become a basis for creating a crisis instead of solving problems”.
He said crises of such magnitude had twice forced the federal government to intervene. “Now there is a consensus that a no-confidence vote will be moved against it, which the PPP and PML-N will be together on,” Kaira said.
The PPP leader noted that while the PML-N had earlier announced its decision to sit in opposition – a move that the PPP might not have initially wanted – his party had accepted it for the sake of political stability.
He said both parties sought “better governance, political stability, problem solving and free and fair elections” to ensure “the true representatives of the region could be elected and form their government”.
“The timing of [no-confidence] The move will be consulted with the Prime Minister,” he said.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said the PML-N believed the current AJK setup had “completely failed” to fulfill its responsibilities.
He said that a high-level joint committee had been sent to the region to negotiate a resolution, but “what has come out clearly in that whole situation is that the current setup has remained a failure to live up to the aspirations of the people and our commitment to the people of Kashmir for good governance and opportunities for prosperity. Therefore, it is inevitable that the current setup has not been changed … through a movement”.
He added that PML-N’s AJK branch had decided to play its democratic role from the opposition benches while continuing to represent the interests of the people.
Rana Sanaullah also criticized the incumbent government, saying it had “failed to complete its responsibilities”, resulting in a “political vacuum” that created further instability. “Whatever government is formed will solve the problems of the people and serve them and then credible, fair and free elections will be held,” he said.
‘Political theatre’
Meanwhile, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja dismissed the PPP-PML-N alliance as “political theatre” and claimed that the two parties had “no real plan” to form a genuine opposition.
Speaking to a private news channel, Raja said, “PPP and PML-N are the two sides of the same coin; they have an alliance and do not intend to form a real opposition. They are just going their separate ways right now”.
Responding to questions on whether Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) would side with PTI, PPP or PML-N in the National Assembly, Raja said, “Given the past, I don’t think they will join us in the end and whether they form an alliance with PPP or PML-N, I can’t say anything about that (PTI) but we don’t really have anything about that.”
“Our position is that these assemblies are just a facade. People don’t trust them anymore, so they can keep doing what they want and whoever becomes the next opposition, it doesn’t make any difference,” he added.
The PPP now seems poised to field its own candidate to head the regional government following the expected exit of current AJK Prime Minister Anwarul Haq. The plan – reportedly finalized after President Zardari’s meeting with AJK lawmakers on Saturday – triggered the defection of ten PTI lawmakers to the PPP, giving the party a commanding majority.
If successful, AJK will witness its fourth prime minister in four and a half years.
After his meeting with the AJK legislators, President Zardari also spoke to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take him into confidence on the PPP’s plan and strategy for the new government.
The PPP’s tally rose to 27 after the addition of the ten legislators, securing it the numbers needed to form a government.
The new entrants announced their decision a day after President Zardari met PPP’s AJK lawmakers and reaffirmed his commitment to the “policy of reconciliation and tolerance”.
The meeting reviewed governance challenges, the evolving political landscape and the party’s roadmap to ensure a smooth transition of power in the region.
