Moves by PPP Hint of a Deal With Actual Powers in Pakistan

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) winning PS-52 election in Umerkot while Bilawal Bhutto not joining the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) protest outside Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) today hints that it has done an ‘under the table’ deal with the nucleus of powers in Pakistan.

Possibly against the will of other partners of PDM, the developments show that PPP has made an under the table deal with the actual powers and it is convinced to distance itself from PDM.

Bilawal Bhutto in Sukkur announced that he would not join the ECP protest but would rather celebrate his party’s victory in the by-poll.

The seat of PS-52 of Sindh Assembly had become vacant after the death of PPP’s Syed Mardan Ali Shah. He was unbeaten on the seat for the past three decades.

His son was given the ticket by PPP to contest against the former Chief Minister of Sindh Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim who had been nominated by the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) which was backed by ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The manifestation of the presumption is Bilawal Bhutto’s non-participation in the PDM protest outside ECP against alleged rigging in 2018 elections and withholding of verdict of PTI’s foreign funding case.

Bilawal had not even participated in the Mardan rally of PDM while he had not joined the alliance’s meeting before the much-hyped Lahore rally.

The political observers presume that PPP, which was already against the peremptory moves of PDM, has cultivated an understanding with the actual powers that be.

PPP had already opposed the long march option of PDM to topple the government. It was the first party in the alliance which announced to participate in the Senate election.

Read Also

Test of PPP in Umerkot in First Election After PDM

Other parties in the PDM also followed the footsteps of PPP and announced participation in the election of the upper house of Parliament.

From all that has evolved, the government’s stance against the opposition’s movement seems to have vindicated, and possibly, its back-door channels have worked.