A JUI worker came to their defense with all his might after I tweeted something about “Patwari Liberals” about a year ago. I advised him not to be arrogant about his romance with the PML-N because a moment would soon come when these Patwari liberals would rename Maulana to Mullah in the name of Fazlur Rahman, and you would be left with no one but yourself to wipe your tears. That moment has come, I suppose. In his rhythm a few days ago, Wajahat Masoud said that Mullah Fazlur Rahman had messed up the 18th amendment in several ways. Let’s examine how Fazlur Rahman, who had been referred to as Maulana Fazlur Rahman by the local liberals for the past three years, unexpectedly changed back to Mullah Fazlur Rahman.
The first indication appeared when Maulana griped about not getting invited into Dubai huddle. The Dubai summit brought together people who have ruled in the past and most likely will continue to do so. Maulana will only receive a portion based on his present membership in the parliament. Shareholders can no longer have equal standing, can they? It’s odd that a seasoned politician like Maulana couldn’t grasp this reality. We’ve seen Benazir Bhutto choose Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, who held a single seat, time and time again to lead movements while she was in the opposition. She would, however, treat Nawabzada as if he didn’t exist around election time.
Both Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan and Maulana Fazlur Rahman share the quality of being experienced politicians. While the media admired Maulana for his humour, Nawabzada used to woo them with his poetic taste. Both are appropriate for the opposition but pose no threat to any significant ruling party. Being a shrewd customer, Nawabzada was well aware of the fact that he was being used, and so he spent his time cheerfully preside over meetings and gatherings.
However, Maulana Fazlur Rahman treated his PDM presidency with a little more gravity. They spent millions, and his workers shouted PDM causes from the rooftops. Maulana was utilized by PPP and PML-N, who played him like a flute. Both parties, using the media, pumped him up during the agitation, but as the elections drew close, they ditched him like Nawabzada.
I once had a close relationship with Maulana Fazlur Rahman. I’ve noticed that when things seem to be going well, empty dreams weaken Maulana’s nearsight. I used to tell him that he couldn’t see what was happening to him. Not only was Maulana not invited to Dubai, but there are other plots afoot to steal Maulana’s thunder. For instance, the PPP’s biggest goal is to win back the seats they lost in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2013 and afterward.
For this reason, PPP has compiled a list of seats outside of Sindh that it has previously won twice or more. Dera Ismail Khan is one of these seats that Maulana has won three times in eight elections. This seat has been contested by PPP as well. The PPP is committed to retaining this seat through all means necessary in the upcoming election. Time will tell who comes out victorious, however, I would advise Maulana to contest from Bannu also where Akram Khan Durrani has a strong hold unlike Maulana’s clout on DI Khan seat. Maulana will probably win from Bannu.
The topic of whether to hold the elections in October or a few months later is now being discussed in Islamabad’s political circles. It’s interesting to note that a few months ago, Maulana Fazlur Rahman was the one who advised delaying elections for a year.
They were threatening Imran Khan then, but now they are afraid of it themselves. Maulana insists that elections should be held on time. This is also the PPP’s viewpoint. This appears to be the People’s Party’s and Maulana’s principled stance. However, there is another principle that calls for elections to be held following the census results. Why does Maulana disregard this reality? The reason is that JUI seats in the Hazara division, where PML-N has a sizable vote bank, are also at risk, in addition to Maulana’s DI Khan seat.
Understanding the context of PML-N’s position is crucial to comprehend Maulana’s anxiety. If the elections are scheduled in October, Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the PML-N, will have a dilemma since he cannot risk visiting Pakistan until Justice Bandial is seated in the Supreme Court. On September 16, Justice Bendial will leave the bench. If elections are held in October, Nawaz Sharif won’t run his party’s campaign because he will submit an appeal once the current CJP leaves, which will take two to three weeks.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman and the People’s Party hope to gain from this. Because Maulana Fazlur Rahman and Asif Ali Zardari are well aware that Nawaz Sharif’s wave will be in full force in the approaching election if he is given the opportunity to campaign. Nawaz Sharif, who had a farce in 2018, will be present in the arena. As the PML-N was the lone target of the Panama scandal while PPP and JUI were mostly unaffected, both parties gained the same number of seats that they often do, but PML-N suffered significantly. Nawaz would exploit the fraud of the 2018 elections as the main theme of his election campaign.
Nawaz Sharif, if gotten the chance, would undoubtedly campaign on injustice of 2018. Therefore, the PML-N’s supporters and workers would come to exact revenge. Democracy is the best revenge, Asif Zardari once proclaimed, but Nawaz Sharif will make this a reality. And this is what Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Asif Zardari are afraid of. Elections in October, they reason, are the only way to dodge Nawaz’s cyclone since he will have had the least amount of time for his election campaign.
