ISLAMABAD: The party may have backed down from their demand for the prime minister’s resignation for the time being, but it appears the PPP is no longer pulling its punches with the ruling PML-N.

Despite being the main opposition party in parliament, the PPP had lost ground to the PTI – both inside and outside the house – since the latter’s sit-in outside parliament in 2014. At the time, parliamentary forces felt it was prudent to come together in the face of ‘anti-democratic forces’.

But ever since then, there has been a widespread impression that the PPP has played a friendly opposition to the PML-N, especially in Punjab, where the party was said to be on its last legs.

When asked about criticism of the ‘friendly opposition’ role, Senator Sherry Rehman admitted that her party was engaged in constructive politics, but the PML-N had turned parliament into a mere rubber stamp and needed a wake-up call.

With the leak of the Panama Papers, however, everything has changed. Indeed, it was PPP lawmakers who were leading the charge against the government inside both houses of parliament and it was the residence of veteran Lahore-based Senator Aitzaz Ahsan – where joint ToRs were being developed – that has been serving as the combined opposition’s camp office for the past two days.

Party’s Punjab chapter prevails upon Bilawal, gears up for anti-govt push

In background discussions and on the record comments, PPP leaders across the board believe that Panamagate has been a godsend, particularly for the party’s Punjab chapter. Following the 2013 general elections, PTI emerged as a strong competitor and even replaced the PPP as the main opposition in the Punjab Assembly.

Now, though, there are but few in the PPP who still think they should tread carefully, and most of the leadership, especially from Punjab, favours an all out campaign against the ruling party.

Unlike his father, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari seems to have bought into the argument presented by party leaders from Punjab. He demonstrated as much when he took on the Sharif brothers during a recent speech in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Not only did he not shy away from heaping criticism on the prime minister and his party, Bilawal categorically asked for PM Sharif’s resignation until the probe into the Panama Papers revelations is completed. This was a marked departure from the mantra Syed Khursheed Shah, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, has been reciting.

Senator Taj Haider, one of the party’s main leaders from Sindh, told Dawn that if the prevailing situation wasn’t handled properly, it had all the trappings of something that could lead the country to anarchy.

For him, the party chairman’s demand for the PM’s resignation was not a result of pressure from PTI, but the consequence of a well-thought-out strategy.

A senior PPP leader from Punjab told Dawn: “We had detailed discussions on the subject with Bilawal and were able to convince him about political dynamics in Punjab; the party has no chance to stage a comeback without an aggressive stance.”

He said discussions to this effect took place when Bilawal was in Islamabad for around a fortnight in April. He returned to the capital again last week and has been taking a keen interest in the PPP’s role in the Panamagate aftermath.

Admitting that it had been a ‘hard sell’, the PPP leader said: “at the end of day, Bilawal understood how the PTI is literally pulling the rug out from beneath our feet, mainly due to the PPP’s years of playing friendly opposition under the guardianship of Asif Ali Zardari.”

The majority of the party’s leadership from Sindh, he said, weren’t in favour of all-out war with the Sharif brothers.

Being the custodian of leader of the opposition seats in both houses, Sherry Rehman said: “Our reaction to the Panama Papers is quite natural. The PPP has always led in times of crisis and this certainly is one. This commission is not only about the PM or any one person, it is not a witch hunt at all. It is a framework in response to a public demand for transparency.”

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2016