Senior journalist Saleem Khan Safi, while speaking on Geo News programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, said that there was one man who had ruined the politics for many in Pakistan. Safi was giving his analysis on the recent Senate fiasco after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill 2021 was passed on January 28.
“Zaradri, Nawaz Sharif aur Maulana sub ki siyasat ko aik banday nay fail kar diya hai [One man has led to the failure of Zardari, Nawaz Sharif, and Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman’s politics],” Safi said alluding to Chairman of Senate Sadiq Sanjrani.
Safi went on to say that what happened in Senate on January 28 was a collective failure. “This is the failure of the Opposition that they could not devise a joint strategy against the government. This Opposition does not carry the traits of the Opposition. This entire matter was part of the script. It started with Yusuf Raza Gilani becoming the Leader of the Opposition, to the passing of various bills. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was the mastermind behind it all and he was the one who devised this script.”
“Sanjrani is our friend and a respected man. There was a time when he was in charge of the complaint cell in Gilani’s government. Giani played a role in the script prepared by Bilawal and former president Asif Ali Zardari. I will consider Gilani’s resignation as part of the script as well,” added Safi.
Senior journalist Fahd Husain, who also was part of the panel on the show, said, “This is very obvious that the Opposition was given a clear message that they will not block the [SBP Amendment] bill.”
Agreeing with Safi, Husain said that how the events unfolded themselves makes it very obvious that everything that happened was pre-planned. “The way all this happened and the way the people went missing, they did not turn up, I will say that this was done in a rather crude manner. The Opposition should have taken advantage of this scenario and should have said that the government got the bill passed in an illegitimate manner, they [Opposition] have now got all this on themselves.”
Husain further said that what happened in the Senate cannot be fully put on Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). He said that the mistrust built between Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP over Yusuf Raza Gilani becoming the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate is still there and we are witnessing history repeating itself.
Anchorperson Shahzeb Khanzada asked Safi if the Opposition was a threat to the government. Safi said that the entire fuss of the Opposition was mainly to prove that they actually are the Opposition. Just like Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), all this suits the PPP. If early elections take place, the PPP is of the view that they might not get to rule Sindh as well. “All these marches are just tactics to prove themselves as the Opposition,” said Safi.
“They [Oppostion] have not devised a concrete methodology towards their policies. We are ignoring the role of Sadiq Sanjrani in all this. If Zardari wants to rule completely, he should make Sanjrani chairman instead of Bilawal. If PDM wants success, they should make Sanjrani their leader,” said Safi.
