If Asif Ali Zardari is still toying with the notion of bringing down the government, he must understand that to go down this path will be to travel it alone. Indeed, it is not yet certain whether his political frenemy, Nawaz Sharif, will attend the upcoming All Parties Conference (APC). It is perhaps one of the most striking ironies of the thrice-elected Prime Minister’s political career that at a time when he has the immense potential in the shape of opposition backing to impede the tenure of the ruling PTI — the party that played an instrumental role in dethroning him — he has effectively side-stepped the issue. Preferring instead to play a game of wait-and-see; to sit back and watch Imran Khan and all his men as they are ultimately hoisted by their own petard. Even while the younger Sharif and PMLN chief has agreed to prolong parliamentary cooperation between his party and the PPP against the Centre.
In truth, Nawaz possibly has no more stomach for agitation. He has been there and done that; taking on both the military establishment and the judiciary at the same time only to lose. And he likely has not forgotten the recent manoeuvrings by the PPP co-Chairman against him. All to save the former’s own skin. These include Zardari joining forces with the PTI to oust the sitting PMLN chief minister in Balochistan. Then, in the post-election environment, the former President ensured that the grand opposition remained divided over the question of fielding joint candidates for the post of head of state. Both moves were viewed from the cheap seats as calculated to offset the tightening of the anti-corruption noose.
This did not happen. And now Zardari is believed to be looking for a get-out-of-jail clause. Quite literally. And while he has made much of the fact that he is being scapegoated over introducing the 18th Amendment that clipped the wings of the president as well as other state actors – in reality this narrative is directed mainly towards Nawaz. To underscore how the two political bigwigs are confronting the same threat. Naturally, pundits have been keen to dismiss this as a manoeuvre in self-preservation. Or at the very least to secure widespread support from the grand opposition; as a buffer zone of sorts. In a bid to present any imminent charges against the PPP supremo as politically motivated.
