POLITICS makes strange bedfellows. There has not, for quite some time, been a guest list as intriguing as the one made for a recent meeting of Pakistan’s opposition parties, hosted by former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser. According to reports, the meeting was attended by PkMAP’s Mahmood Khan Achakzai, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, SIC chief Hamid Raza, MWM leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, ex-PPP senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, incumbent Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, and others. Stranger still was the pronouncement after the meeting: a grand opposition alliance, to be steered by Mr Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, himself a former PML-N prime minister, will be mobilising a resistance movement against the current regime. Mr Abbasi was reportedly nominated to the responsibility “because he is not a controversial individual.” He has been asked to lead a steering committee that will seek to bring all opposition parties on one platform against the government.

It is still early days to comment on whether this plan will materialise. There are, after all, too many ifs and buts in the equation. Nevertheless, it would have been exciting for politics enthusiasts to learn that a fresh game is afoot. The common purpose is to topple the government and enforce a new round of free and fair elections. Given how deeply entrenched the ‘favoured’ parties have become in recent months, it was only a matter of time before those who find no favour at this time realised they must fight back or be interred in the same place as Pakistani democracy. The selection of Mr Abbasi as the coalition’s chief is a particularly interesting one. It suggests that, occasionally, the PTI may not be as self-centred as it often is, and could consider ceding space to others if the need arises. The country could benefit from some good politics. Let us wait and see.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2025