Reported differences between the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and its junior coalition partner Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) in Punjab are not a good omen for both the government and democracy. On Friday, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar visited the residence of PML-Q leader and Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi to fix the threats to his government brewing in the wake of a resignation letter by a Punjab minister, by Punjab Mines and Minerals Minister Hafiz Ammar Yasir, a PML-Q MPA from Chakwal. The resignation letter, written to his party leadership and conspicuously leaked to the media, cited unwarranted interference and hurdles in his ministry since he assumed the ministry over four months ago. The minister, without explaining who is interfering in his ministry, or who is exerting pressure on him, stirred unease in the PTI quarters, which appear to be under pressure in the centre from the statement of another partner – Sardar Akhtar Mengal. Newspapers also published the picture of Prime Minister Imran Khan meeting the leaders of another major coalition partner from Sindh – the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (PMQ-P). Even though with a tag of being a tough coalition partner, the MQM-P has not issued any statement regarding their coalition affairs, which is quite surprising. Signs of anger, however, from the Chaudhrys of Gujrat, known as placid players of politics, should be worrying for the PTI.
The chief minister’s late night visit to the Chaudhrys seems to have worked for now. It has yet to be seen what measures will be taken to address the minister’s concerns. The minister handles a ‘not a so lucrative’ office given that Punjab has rather few mines in the province. Their contracts, however, are regarded goldmines. In the previous governments, ministers patronised their blue-eyed boys by dishing out contracts. Disagreements from the bureaucracy in the award of such contracts often ended in deadlock. In the current scenario, the bureaucracy has adopted a go-slow policy and has become extra cautious given the activism of the National Accountability Bureau.
