Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed is a seasoned politician and a former general secretary of the PPP Punjab. A highly respected person who is known to call a spade a spade, Manzoor is a key member of the PPP’s Central Executive Committee and is very aware of the developments taking place in Pakistani politics. Even his rivals vouch for the fact that Manzoor has a sharp, analytical mind. He is no blind loyalist of the PPP and, in fact, there have been times when he has grilled his own party if, in his opinion, it has fallen out of line.

Here Bol News speaks to the veteran leader about a host of issues confronting his party and the country.

Joint opposition had more numbers in the Senate but it miserably failed to block the government bill pertaining to the State Bank of Pakistan. What’s your take on this?

Chaudhry Manzoor: It is a wrong perception which has been developed in the media. Actually, the government has been very mischievous in the regard. After 12 o’clock in the night, the agenda of the Senate was circulated which goes out to show the government’s intent. It was dense fog in Punjab and when it was understood that Yousuf Raza Gilani would not be able to attend the session, the government scheduled the meeting of the Senate at 10:00am.

The parliamentary norms were bulldozed. And yet, Pakistan People Party’s only two members were not present in the session while PDM’s seven members were absent when legislation was done on the bill of the SBP. PPP’s Sikandar Mandro is a cancer patient who is currently in USA for treatment. Gilani Sahab had the plan to offer condolence over the death of Ghulam Rabani Khar. He (Gilani) was of the view that the bill would be presented in the Senate on Monday (January 31st).

PPP and PML-N announced different deadlines for their long march against the government. Would they have any impact on the government?

CM: It is an attack on the government, and the more the merrier. We believe the government would be weakened with these attacks. The opposition is not divided as it stands united in the parliament. Moreover, this is not first time that things like these are happening. When ZA Bhutto had announced a movement against General Ayub Khan, the other opposition parties had opted to attend a roundtable conference called by the dictator. But Bhutto defeated the dictator single-handedly through his effective strategy. During this process he also had exposed the opposition besides exposing the government at the same time. There is another angle to it as there would also be competition amongst the political parties. I believe these separate movements would definitely have an impact on the government, coming one after the other.

From the confidence of Imran Khan, it appear that he is not going anywhere. Recently he threatened that he would be more dangerous if he is thrown out of the government. How do opposition parties intend to counter that?

CM: Earlier, he (PM Imran) was of the view that he would be more dangerous of he is in the government. Now he says if he is ousted, then he would be more dangerous. The confidence of General (Retired) Musharraf was also very palpable before being overthrown from the government. But where is he now? People like Musharraf and Imran Khan express needless bravado and fake confidence at such occasions when they are weak and worried.

The PDM stands divided and appear weak after the departure of PPP from the alliance. Though their leaders have met again, is there any chance of PDM joining the PPP long match on Feb 27th?

CM: It was actually the PPP which had formed PDM. It was our party which was pursuing it. Twitters (of other opposition parties) were silent, the phones were switched off. They were tight-lipped. In this scenario it was only the PPP which was taking a stand and constantly protesting. The truth is that PDM betrayed us by releasing the show cause notice. Though some meetings have been held again among the PPP and PDM leadership, this does not mean that the PPP is rejoining the alliance. However, if they (PDM) offer an apology and withdraw the show cause notice, then PPP would seriously reconsider to rejoin it.

There is unprecedented and record inflation in the country today, but the Opposition has failed to mobilise the general public against it. Why?

CM: Again, only the PPP has mobilised the people on the inflation issue, no other party has done it so vociferously.  The PPP knows well what would be the consequences of the rising inflation level and how it can damage the country in future. Unfortunately, the PTI leadership does not realize the sensitivity of the matter, then there would soon be an anarchy in the country which will be detrimental.

There are talks that some of the PTI MNAs have received assurances from the PML-N and PPP to give them tickets for the next general election. How many MNAs of PTI are in negotiations with the PPP in this connection?

CM: People remain in contact on issues like. There is question as where would dissident groups of PTI would go. PML-N got no place for them in Punjab. Ultimately PPP becomes prime destination for persons like it.   I can’t give figure as how many MNAs are in negotiation with us. PML-N has been claiming that 34 MNAs are in contact with it. If it is the case then why motion of no confidence is moved against the government by the PML-N.

Recent developments show that the PPP has switched its tilt toward Establishment. The PPP voters and the people having tilt towards left wing politics seem confused over it and they are disappointed as well. Your take on it?

CM: There is propaganda in this connection against PPP in the mainstream media. Recently Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had stated that those who do pro-establishment politics, they don’t have graveyards of martyrs. This propaganda was also launched against BB. Are we doing this long march on the instruction of someone? Sometime back we were ready to initiate movement against the government but they broke the PDM.

Do you think that the government is still in majority at the National Assembly?

CM: Things like these are basically perceptions. We want to link road politics with the parliament. It means when the street politics will gain impetus, as on February 27th and onwards, then cracks would start appearing within the government and it would automatically fall due to lack of majority.

In National Assembly, why doesn’t the opposition highlight the issues being faced by the public instead of harping on the lack of quorum there?

CM: The government is shying away from the key issues and, therefore, keep dodging us in the National Assembly by not showing up at the forum. The Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chairman Senate don’t allow debate on matters of public interest. The government makes fun of the people of opposition parties who speak on the floor of the House. How can things be addressed in such atmosphere?

Will the PPP support the motion regarding separate province for the people of South Punjab or for the Hazara Division?

CM:  Yes. The PPP has a clear cut stance on the issue of province for Southern Punjab. We want separate province for the people of South Punjab. The provincial assembly of Punjab has passed a resolution in this context but the current regime does not want to make legislation on the matter. If a genuine initiative is taken by the government for the separate province then the PPP can support it. However, no deliberation has been made yet with regards to Hazara Province in the party.