How long will the PDM alliance last.
Whether the PDM alliance succeed in ousting PM Imran Khan, or not, isn’t as significant as preventing alliance premature split after the fall of Imran’s regime.
The formation of the alliances by opposition parties against sitting governments and filing a no-confidence motion against those governments is not a new phenomenon and filing of a No-Confidence motion against the Imran Khan Government by the PDM alliance is one of such efforts. In the past, many such alliances were formed by opposition parties for achieving their common political goals, and only a few saw success, and many met an utter failure. Irrespective of their success or failure, among all those alliances, one thing was common they did not last for a long and prematurely split into individual entities. Whether the PDM alliance succeed in ousting PM Imran Khan, or not, isn’t as significant as preventing alliance split after the fall of Imran’s regime and achieving the alliance’s stated goals.
It is worth noting that mitigation of the sufferings of people inflicted upon them due to the Imran regime’s follies, and the forever elimination of the possibility of influence of bigwigs from powerful institutions on the electoral process are the stated objectives of the alliance.
Pakistan’s history is marred with political conflicts and splits. Pakistan’s history is marred with political conflicts and splits. Since independence, fighting between the tyrant and civilian rulers and political groupings has remained a common phenomenon which has brought the country to a stalemate where on the one end, Pakistani society is fraught with internal strife and rising polarization, and on the other hand Pakistani economy is in shambles. Ironically, not only the tyrants but also a majority of politicians and their leaderships, both from opposition and government, have played their part in bringing Pakistan to this mess and are equally responsible for it. Until these internal conflicts does come to an end, maintaining sovereignty of the state will remain a challenge.
The socio, economic and political conditions of Pakistan are so precarious that there arises the need for collective efforts of all stakeholders and long-term continuity of regime to bail out Pakistan. In Pakistan, internal strife and polarization has torn the very fabric of society, and pushed the economy into in wreckage. Similarly, there are no signs of governance in the country, and lawlessness and corruption are on the rise. Ironically, not only the tyrants but also a majority of politicians and their leaderships, both from opposition and government, have played their part in bringing Pakistan to this mess and are partly responsible for it.
It is not the dearth of talent among leadership that poses a challenge in bailing out Pakistan from this stalemate but a lack of their collective will and unwillingness to work together for the national cause. The track record of the political leadership of the PDM suggests that the alliance will split after a regime change and will start fighting with one another as there exist long-standing rivalries between many of the parties. The key players of the PDM alliance, the Pakistan Muslim League (N), and the Pakistan People Party are those arch-rivals who did not shy away from aligning with the establishment to eliminate each other. They were once aligned against Musharaf, but their alliance did not last, and their alliance split right after achieving their immediate goals.
The changing socio-politics of the world has posed an existential threat for Pakistan, which warrants the need for working together of all stakeholders to bail out Pakistan from this critical juncture. Alliances such as PDM has been fragile most of the time, but occasionally, such coalitions have proved their ability to achieve short term and long term objectives. The fall of Bhutto’s regime and the overthrow of Musharraf’s regime are a few of the successful examples of such alliances’ success in achieving short-term successful goals. Likewise, the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment is one of the rare successful examples of long-term goal achievement such alliance in Pakistan.
The outcome of the PDM alliance attempt to oust PM Imran Khan is less significant than the effort since in either case, the alliance’s role in rescuing Pakistan from its current predicament will become crucial.
Irrespective of the outcome of PDM’s attempt to oust the Imran regime, the move is significant one. In either case, the significance of the alliance’s role in national politics will increase. Even in case, the alliance did not succeed in ousting Imran Khan, the vulnerable Imran government will be forced to tread cautiously and take the opposition into confidence on national issues. However, the success of the alliance will be more challenging for the leadership of the alliance because it will have to fight on three fronts; one, stabilizing the national economy and improving governance; two, facing the wounded opposition; and three, keeping the alliance from breaking up.
Given the situation wherein the alliance has committed more than its due share to the allies of the Imran regime to entice defection in government alliance, the likelihood of the alliance lasting long after the fall of the Imran regime become thinner.
Let’s see how long will the alliance last.
