The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) will not engage in opposition to the PPP, which will probably be pleased at this kindness, though PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has accused it of ‘backstabbing’. How exactly the PDM hopes to achieve its stated goal of removing the PTI government without the PPP does not appear possible because the numbers simply do not add up. Maulana Fazal did appear to have scaled back the PDM’s goals by saying that it would go against the government with full force and would organise rallies and caravans across the country. That, it seems, is something the government can withstand.
The PDM seems to have come together for Senate elections and to have broken up as soon as the PPP failed to get its candidate elected as chairman. It was also perhaps too much to expect the PML (N) and the PPP, which have been opposed to one another, but which are expecting to be rivals at the next election too, to remain together for too long. The PML (N)’s indecision over what position to adopt towards the establishment, symbolized by the respective positions of President Shehbaz Sharif and Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, was also no help. The PPP found itself having to achieve its own understanding with the establishment, which means that it no longer put its full force behind the PDM. Also, the PPP was the only PDM component with a stake, as it was in government in Sindh, and was least likely to follow the clamour of resignations from the Assembly. This tactic is still on the table, according to Maulana, who is not in any House himself.
However, the PPP may find it needs the PDM to deal with the challenge it faces in its home base, Sindh. It has now been in office there since 2008, and for the first time faces a serious challenge, as the PTI intends to extend its footprint to interior Sindh, having already successfully dented the MQM at the last election. If Sindh does become up for grabs, what is to stop the PML (N) from seeking some advantage in the process? If instead of the support it could expect from an alliance partner, it was to face a political rival out to do the best for itself. Opposition unity might still be a far cry, but it would seem that the current move shows that the opposition parties still need unity to face down the current government.
