By Shabbir Mir in The Express Tribune, May 19
GILGIT: The alliance between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) at the center has discomforted the regional leadership of PML-N in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B).
The JUI-F has been the coalition partner of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the G-B government for the past three years, with JUI-F leader and health minister Haji Gulbar defending Chief Minister Mehdi Shah on every front.
Similarly, Maulana Attaullah Shahab, a member of the G-B Council, remained advisor to former prime ministers Yousaf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf for almost three years and availed every opportunity to bash PML-N on corruption and lawlessness.
Though the PML-N chief in G-B, Hafizur Rahman, remains marred by the bitter memories of JUI-F’s regional leaders, he must respect the agreement reached between the two parties in the centre.
If he defies the agreement, he runs the risk of losing credibility among the party’s central leadership. “It’s a really tricky situation now,” said Nafees Ahmad, a political analyst in Gilgit. “Rahman has to either convince the Sharif brothers to withdraw from the agreement with the JUI-F or just forget the past,” he added.
Following PML-N’s victory on Election Day, Rahman triggered a regional debate after expressing his desire to replace the G-B governor with a party candidate. Many parties, with the JUI-F in the forefront, opposed his idea.
“Any unconstitutional move will be resisted with full force,” said JUI-F’s Gulbar while referring to Rahman’s suggestion. “The governor will remain as long as the president wishes.”
Meanwhile, Rahman avoided commenting on whether he would like friendlier ties with the JUI-F in G-B. “It is too early to comment on it,” he told reporters on Saturday.
A JUI-F delegation from G-B met the party’s chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Islamabad to update him on the situation emerging in the region in the wake of the May 11 polls. At the meeting, Fazl assured the participants his full support.
Though the alliance has rekindled hopes of a rapprochement between the two parties in G-B, it remains undetermined whether the JUI-F will be offered the slot for the advisor to PM. www.tribune.com.pk
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