By Staff Reporter
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s tryst with PMLN bigwig Nawaz Sharif in London, where most commentators believe extraordinary decisions governing the latter’s political future were taken, is under attack from all sides for its overly clandestine nature.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which claims the incumbent regime is illegitimate, is alleging the country is being run by a convict (Nawaz Sharif), from the British capital as a de facto prime minister.
If it was just another party meeting a videolink would have done the trick like always, but there was something so confidential about it that the PMLN leadership did not even trust the internet for fears of any hacking and resultant leaks of the sensitive information.
For public consumption, the agenda of the London meet includes consultation on the date for next general election, economy of the country and the political crisis in Punjab. If these subjects are the agenda toppers, then a personal meeting in London seems a bit too far.
What has then led to the pressing of the panic button in London?
Let’s discuss the agenda we have for the London rendezvous.
Economic Challenges
The economy is in a state that requires immediate and bold steps.
There was a general assumption that PMLN would be able to pull off a ‘quick-fix’ for the economy. A month after the ouster of Imran Khan, they couldn’t even come up with an economic roadmap.
Friends like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates saw off the Pakistani aid-seekers empty-handed. The IMF meeting was also a non-event. In fact, the lender of last resort has once again asked the government to withdraw subsidies and pass on the impact to the public by raising the tariff of gas , electricity, and petroleum products.
Such bold steps have political costs attached to them. Though the incumbent government comprises eleven parties, yet such steps would draw severe criticism on PMLN, hence the hesitation. It shall also give PTI more food for protest against the government it dubs as ‘imported’.
So consultation regarding fixing of the economy could have been easily done through a virtual meeting by PMLN leadership in London and Pakistan.
Announcement of Next General Elections
Former prime minister Imran khan has been demanding early elections addressing large public rallies across Pakistan with a final plan of a long March to Islamabad soon.
If the decision on the next election is the most important agenda in the London meet, an early date doesn’t seem to work well for all the political parties in power as well as the military establishment.
An early election would nourish Khan’s narrative and somehow turn out to be a win-win situation for him.
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