By Asif Mehmood
The bill is rejected but does it mean that the chapter is closed is anybody’s guess. The bill was a nightmare for the house of Sharif. If passed it had the potential to bring an end to the political career of Nawaz Sharif. Now as it is rejected by the house with a very huge margin the game is not over for Nawaz Sharif.
The bill actually sought a restriction on the disqualified parliamentarians from holding any top office of the political party. This was a joint venture of the opposition but ended in a smoke. With only 98 votes in favor and 163 for its rejection the PMLN has proved that still it enjoys the commanding position in National Assembly. The absence of Imran Khan also indicates that he was well aware about the outcome of this bill.
Now two questions are of paramount importance. If PPP was not in a position to get this bill passed why it decide to introduce the same? Was it a covert support for Nawaz Sharif by settling the issue once for all? The truth may sound bitter but the fact is that without the tacit approval of the opposition the government could never have passed this bill from the senate. So once you let it happen you must know it is now useless to cry.
The situation reminds me of a saying attributed to Abraham Lincoln “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time”
Now if the opposition try to pretend like an opposition it has all the rights to try it but can this kind of theatrics bring any fruitful result is again anybody’s guess.
However Naveed Qamar has offered some food for thought for everyone when he said”“The essence of the Constitution is damaged when a person who is not even a member of the house is allowed to lead a political party.”
The bill is rejected but the questions are mounting. We can’t sidestep these questions on any pretext.