There has always been an unsaid rule in Pakistani politics that prohibits the use of specific names of individuals belonging to institutions when referring to the ‘establishment’. Whenever the word is used, it is usually a reference to political interference, which is why most politicians choose to deal in euphemisms during discourse, both inside and outside Parliament. Last month at the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) first major public show in Gujranwala, former Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif gave a rather rambunctious speech, breaking the norm by accusing COAS Gen Qamar Bajwa and ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed directly of running a parallel government to the PTI’s. PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stated in a recent interview that Nawaz Sharif’s choice of words came as a ‘shock’ to him and while it is not typical to talk like this at rallies, he could not control what the latter says and vice versa. The government has expectedly pounced at this statement, making a convenient deduction by projecting it as a clear indication that all parties in the PDM are not on the same page. There is no denying the fact that up until the very recent past, the PML(N) and PPP have not trusted each other, having been bitter rivals for decades. It is only when a third party, be it a military dictator like Pervez Musharraf or a new political party like Imran Khan’s PTI, comes to power and pushes the opposition up against the wall that they decide to call the past water under the bridge and join hands. The basis of the PDM’s formation is and always has been civilian supremacy and Mr Sharif has simply chosen to define this by using language that other parties may not.
It must be remembered that the phrase ‘selected Prime Minister’ was coined by Mr Bhutto Zardari himself and he used it first on the floor of the National Assembly, much to the dislike of the Treasury Benches. The insinuation therefore is the same; that Imran Khan was installed as a prime minister and the strings are really being pulled from someplace else. Another factor to consider is that Mr Sharif is making his statements from the comfort of London where he has been since last November, without the fear of arrest. Opposition politicians in Pakistan do not have this luxury. Ideally, both the government and opposition should try to resolve their differences but that ship sailed a while ago. It remains to be seen whether or not Mr Sharif dials down his rhetoric to Bilawal-level, or ramps it up further. https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/11/07/pdms-unity/
