IRFAN BUKHARI
ISLAMABAD – Embattled Q-Leaguers in their private sittings see only one hope that could bring them out of troubled waters, and that is, Pervez Musharraf’s resignation from the slot of President.
“President Musharraf is our past, our present and also our future”, said a PML-Q parliamentarian and continued, “He is the man with whose help we ruled for the last five years and he is the man behind our crushing defeat, and I think if he quits the bewildered Q-League will be in a position to make new political alignments in the country”.
He said that the formation of PML-Q government in 2002 and its completion of tenure were solely due to President Pervez Musharraf. He went critical when he noted that the defeat of Q-League on February 18 was mainly due to the policies of President Musharraf and his confidant Shaukat Aziz. “The economic and security crisis brought unprecedented ouster of our party on February 28. In fact, on both fronts we were not responsible as the economic policies of Shaukat Aziz and the President’s cooperation in the war on terror were the main factors behind them”, he noted.
He said that the operations in FATA, Balochistan and the gory episode of Lal Masjid that had played major role in PML-Q and defeat were not conducted on the will of PML-Q parliamentarians. “Rather, we always opposed such extreme steps but were helpless to get our policy implemented”, he said, adding that Q-League was punished for the sins that it had not committed.
Another PML-Q MNA argued that the ouster of President Musharraf was the way to open new corridors for his party. “ I bet the day President Musharraf steps down, will be the day when PDA will meet its natural end and there would be a separation of ways between PPP and PML-N”, he said.
He observed that in the said situation PML-Q would be able to make new alliances even with angry PML-N. “ PML-Q minus Musharraf will be acceptable to Mian Nawaz Sharif and his lieutenants”, he maintained, further saying, “ The old benefactor of Q-League can again give a new life to the politics of our party if he readies to quit”.
“The marriage of convenience between PPP and PML-N is intact till President Pervez Musharraf is in office and with his resignation of him both the major partners of coalition government would develop differences and new alliances would emerge”, another Q-Leaguer argued.
He said that the incumbent political dispensation was short lived and would face cracks on the ouster of President Musharraf, therefore the resignation of the President was important for Q-League than for PDA.
Courtesy: The Nation, 30/3/2008
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