Are Zardari, Bilawal at odds with each other?

Tuesday night saw leaders of major political parties in a multi-party news conference in Islamabad including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. 

The leaders stated that all political parties, including Imran Khan-founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), should work together for the country. 

Conspicuous in his absence was PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, this being more pronounced since he had announced earlier in the day that the PPP would only help the PML-N get its premier elected and provide the necessary support to legislative business on an issue-to-issue basis. 

Bilawal had also rejected the idea of going for a “PDM-2” government and announced pulling out of the candidacy for the prime minister's post.

Are the father and son at odds with each other over the coalition issue or are they playing good cop-bad cop?

When asked, a senior PPP leader did not agree with the two propositions, saying nothing is intriguing in all this and the matter is a bit technical. Requesting anonymity, the PPP leader said that Asif Zardari is the president of PPP-Parliamentarians and his presence in the press conference to announce the coalition was quite appropriate.

When reminded that in the past, Bilawal had talked about discarding the politics of babas (elders), something that clearly indicated a difference in both leaders’ political views, the PPP leader said that Zardari, in an interview with Geo anchorperson Hamid Mir, had asserted his authority as PPP-P president.

He said that if at all there was a difference of opinion between the two leaders, it was ideological or strategic, and not tactical. According to this PPP leader, this is in fact healthy, as its synthesis will help the party grow. If the nation has thrown up a split mandate, a coalition with other parties is the need of the hour, the leader added.

When asked why Shehbaz Sharif’s name was not announced in the press conference and was revealed through a message on X (formerly Twitter), while Maryam Nawaz was named as a candidate for the Punjab chief minister’s office, a PML-N leader claimed, also on condition of anonymity, that the coalition had left it to the PML-N to name its candidate for the PM. He disagreed with the notion that Shehbaz knew he was going to be named as he expressed his desire for Nawaz Sharif to be the premier.

Meanwhile, on Geo’s special transmission on Tuesday night hosted by Shahzad Iqbal, journalist Hamid Mir said that the PML-N had already decided that Shehbaz would be the prime minister and the PPP had also decided to support a Shehbaz-led PML-N government. According to Mir, Bilawal's press conference on Tuesday was a reflection of the decisions taken in the CEC meeting.

In the same programme, the PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah told Shahzad that Shebaz had the experience and the skill to negotiate a coalition government. He also said that the PPP and other parties should join the government. 

Calling Zardari a wise politician, the PML-N leader said that the PPP would be part of the government with or without ministries but also clarified that neither had the PPP asked for the presidency slot nor had the PML-N made any such commitment.

Clarifying that there is no difference between the stance of Bilawal and Zardari, the PPP’s Faisal Karim Kundi told Shahzad in the same programme that the PPP will back the PML-N for the prime minister’s slot, will help with legislation, will vote down legislation it thinks is unfit and will form governments in Sindh and Balochistan. 

He said that with or without the PML-N’s support the PPP will be contesting for the positions of the president, the chairman of Senate, and the speaker of the National Assembly.

Originally published in The News