Whatever else might happen now, one thing is certain. The PTI government is going to be much weaker than before after the recent Senate election. Unless it changes its holier-than-thou mindset, it will find it difficult to complete the rest of its tenure. The opposition is already baying for blood, demanding the PM’s resignation and fresh elections on the grounds that the PTI had lost its majority after 16 MNAs did not vote for Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh despite Mr Imran Khan personally campaigning for him. Mr Khan has promised to expose those who sold their soul for money. He dare not do this because losing them would cause the PTI government to fall. The PM has decided to seek a vote of confidence which would be risky in case those who have no confidence in him decided to come out into the open.
Even if the PM succeeds in obtaining the vote of confidence, he would be looking over his shoulder all the time to ward off any possible stab in the back by the professional turncoats he has recruited to create Naya Pakistan. His hopes to get the upper hand in the Senate have been dashed to the ground. The opposition alliance is in majority in the House of the Federation and is hopeful of getting the top offices of chairman and deputy chairman on March 12 when the elections are scheduled
The PTI is blaming others for misfortunes caused by itself. It is barking up the wrong tree by accusing the Election Commission of Pakistan for failing to hold transparent polls. The Commission has consistently held that the Constitution only allows a secret ballot for the Senate elections. The Supreme Court’s advice to the ECP is being wrongly interpreted to mean that the court had directed the ECP to hold elections through identifiable ballot.
For two years the PTI government rebuffed the opposition’s offers to cooperate with the government in lawmaking by claiming that these were in fact ploys to get an NRO. The opposition is now on the warpath. Unless the government changes its mindset, muzzles its loudmouths and the PM abandons arrogance and learns humility, he will fail to get the opposition’s cooperation during the rest of his tenure.
