THERE was a lot to unpack as KP’s provincial assembly finally returned its representatives to the Senate on Monday. For one, despite the persistent uncertainty and animosity that clouds much of the political landscape, the result of this poll could be confidently predicted well before the first vote was cast. Under what some commentators drily described as “a rare display of understanding”, the province’s ruling party and opposition had reached a deal to split the 11 seats evenly between themselves, with the odd extra seat going to the PTI. The massive disparity in the strength of the treasury and opposition benches would not have necessitated such a deal, but the Supreme Court Constitutional Bench’s novel decision to bless the PTI’s rival parties in KP with far more reserved seats than they had even managed to win from the public’s votes had distorted the numbers game and sent the government scrambling to avoid any further surprises.

KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur claimed on Sunday that the ‘seat adjustment’ was a ploy to thwart horse-trading in the polls. Other members of his own party were not very convinced, at least not initially. With confusion and controversy surrounding the nomination process, a group of discontents decided to contest the election on the PTI’s ‘behalf’, but separately from the party’s ‘official’ nominees. Much effort seems to have been expended on convincing them that the names were, indeed, approved by Imran Khan himself. Most of the dissidents eventually fell in line, but one had held out till the eve of the election. It seems they could not be reasoned with before the poll. This confusion appears to have cost the party. Mr Gandapur claimed the PTI would have gotten eight seats instead of six had its lawmakers fallen in line much sooner. Their ‘disobedience’ weakened his hand.

It was clear from the beginning that the KP government’s ‘compromise’ with the other parties would not go down well with the PTI’s loyalists. One wonders what it took for Mr Gandapur to power through despite the accusations of being a ‘sell-out’ that were consistently thrown his way. Setting aside the debate on exactly why such a deal was made necessary, it was encouraging to note that not just the PTI, but its rivals, too, are still capable of acting as rational players and engaging in quid pro quo. This, after all, is what politics is about. One wonders what more could be achieved if parties were involved in such deal-making on a more regular basis. In KP, for example, a multiparty consensus is urgently needed to address a security crisis that is spiralling out of control. If parties can learn to give and take on issues of public interest as well, they can achieve much together.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2025