LAHORE, March 6: The PPP is considering establishing a shadow cabinet in Punjab for exposing “weaknesses” and “wrong” policies of the provincial government the party has been a part of until Feb 27. “The party had set up a shadow cabinet during the PML-Q government and is again considering the role after its separation from the PML-N-led ruling coalition in Punjab,” President Asif Ali Zardari’s coordinator for the province Naveed Chaudhry says.
The idea would be discussed in the Punjab parliamentary party meeting President Zardari had convened for Tuesday in Islamabad, he said.
Fears of “destabilisation” of democratic system are barring the PPP from making attempts to retake Punjab. The last time the party independently ruled the province was in 1977, although it came into power as a coalition partner when Manzoor Wattoo had revolted against then PML-N chief minister, late Ghulam Haider Wyne, in 1992.
“Moving a no-trust motion is no solution to the problems the country is facing. The situation demands that we go together instead of troubling each other. Otherwise, the democracy achieved after a lot of sacrifices could suffer,” Chaudhry said.
He, however, hastened to add the PPP would not show any leniency to the PML-N government as the Islamabad meeting would formulate a strategy to do “politics of issues” in Punjab.
He said the party would not indulge in criticism for the sake of criticism as it would offer solutions, along with facts and figures, to various issues while exposing the wrong policies of the government.
