A marriage of convenience

Maulana Fazlur Rehman succesfully stage-managed a big public rally in the JUI[F] stronghold at Bannu day before yesterday providing an opportunity to his almoner Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif to vent his spleen on those who are demanding his ouster from power. By doing so he has further endeared himself to the PM who badly need open support of his political allies in his hour of crisis today. The Chief of JUI[F] is on record having expressed his desire to the PM to form a coalition government in the KPK headed by his step brother soon after the 2013 general elections for checkmating the way of the PTI to come to power in that province but the PM had not subscribed to his proposal. The PTI is Maulana’s bete-noire and he would leave no stone unturned in his effort to dislodge it from power in the KPK.
Would the present honeymoon between the Maulana and Mian Sahib last till the next general election is anybody’s guess? The JUI[F] and the JUI[S] are poles apart. Poison of one is meat of the other. The more Mian sahib appease JUI[F] the more he would displease JUI[S] as well as other religious sectarian groups that don’t see eye to eye with the JUI[F]. It seems Mian sahib believes that whatever he loses on the swings by embracing JUI[F[, he might gain on the roundabouts. It would be interesting to see how far the present marriage of convenience between these two political heavyweights pan out. Out of these two political stalwarts the Maulana far excels as far as political acumen and farsightedness is concernced. He never bets on a losing horse. In point of fact he is the best executioner of the peculiar type of politics that is practised in this part of the world.
POSTSCRIPT: Both the PTI’s recent public rallies, one in Islamabad and the other in Lahore witnessed pandemonium. Let us hope history won’t repeat itself in Faisal Abad where in a few days time a PTI public rally is on the cards. One remembers that after the formation of the PPP its workers too exhibited the same type of behavior for many years on end. The PTI leadership should drive home to its workers the lesson of importance of restraint and discipline during public rallies.