‘No Trust’ motion: a political opportunism or a folly ?

Ishtiaq Ahmed

The inability to control the spiralling cost of living, prevent the worsening of law & order situation and now a renewed threat to the internal security of Pakistan brought ahead by the Peshawar tragedy, amongst other considerations, are the principal reasons for PTI led fragile coalition government to feel intense pressure to save its political integrity or at least what is left of it.

The Public opinion about PTI, in actual terms, centre’s around Imran Khan’s integrity and performance as the party leader and the Prime Minister of the country. Those around him are perceived to be at his beckoning call. Thus, if Imran Khan is perceived to be doing well and then his government is also perceived to be doing well. The reverse of this reality is equally true.

The opinion about Imran Khan is increasingly becoming polarized. There are those for whom he remains the Captain who led Pakistan to the cricketing World Cup, something of a cult figure, commanding an unflinching loyalty. For them he can do ‘no wrong’.

There are others who feel that he had inherited the country on the brink of financial and economic ruin with heavy foreign debts and empty coffers, along with dysfunctional governance in almost every area of the government functions and responsibility.

Therefore, he was faced with a huge task of rescuing the country poised on the brink of an unprecedented abyss.

It is held that although he himself has remained sincere to the cause, the team around him, by and large, does not have the same vision, passion, commitment and necessary experience to be able to effectively mitigate huge challenges before them.

Then there are those who feel increasingly let down and betrayed by Imran Khan’s failure to honour many of the pledges that helped him to the office, particularly, around mobilizing and bringing to fore new leadership, cleansing the system of endemic corruption, improving law & order, making Justice accessible and affordable, providing security of employment and income and much more.

In many of these areas he is perceived to have failed. The rising prices of basic household goods, the cost of fuel and basic essential amenities are forcing people to revaluate the credibility of his leadership.

Only recently, someone remarked to me that Imran Khan is surviving not because of his political ability but because of the failure of his political rivals to mount a credible challenge. This conveniently leads me to those on the opposite benches.

The integrity of the opposition leadership is also under intense scrutiny. For Bilawal Zirdari and Maryam Sharif, the youth is on their side but both lack credibility in their own right, perceived as proxies for Zardari and Nawaz and other political oligarchs in the respective parties. Maryam also has to be mindful of political cracks between her and Shahbaz Sharif, which are proving difficult to patch over.

Fazal Rehman is the third principal leader in the opposition alliance. His credibility outside his immediate abode is suspect. He is generally believed to be politically mobile to put it mildly. There is not much love lost between all three principal leaders of the opposition alliance. Others, dip-in and  dip-out are convenient.

It is against this melting pot that we have to understand the present move by the opposition alliance to secure a motion of ‘no trust ‘ against the PTI led coalition government.  It is much about the opposition saving their credibility as it is about masterminding the downfall of Imran Khan and his team. Hence, it is legitimate of us to pause the question: Is this a considered decisive political move or purely a headline grabbing gimmick?

Apparently, Bilawal Zardari seems to be conceding that it would be difficult to accomplish the ‘ no trust’ outcome. Is he being political canny or letting out his genuine reservation about the move? This could also be his fall back position if the outcome is not achieved as desired. I would not be surprised if Maryam Sharif, deep down, has similar fears about the likely outcome of the ‘no trust’ move.

Personally, given the enormity and the severity of internal and external challenges facing Pakistan along with the uncertainty of the direction in which the international community seems to be moving following the invasion of Ukraine, it would be politically imprudent for the ‘ no trust’  vote to happen against the national government.

We need political stability and continuity at least until the next national elections, when the public will give its verdict at the ballot. It is not very long before the present government’s office comes to expire.