Reportedly, the PTI and the PAT have decided to bury the hatchet and join hands in locking down Islamabad. It is said that the PAT has agreed to join the sit-in as a result of mediation by a ‘third party’ which has assured Qadri that promises that could not be realised last time would be fulfilled this time. Who that third party is and what promises have been made has not been revealed though.
This confirms earlier media reports that a second London Plan to destabilise the government was in the offing. That indeed is an ominous development.
A wide spectrum of the intelligentsia is unanimous in their view that the Panama leaks are being used as a ‘red herring’ by Imran Khan and his associates to disrupt the democratic process. Unfortunately, disgruntled and frustrated politicians who can never ever reach the corridors of power through public franchise have invariably always been used like this.
Perhaps a cursory glance at the political credentials of those who are planning to lock down Islamabad is pertinent to ascertain their compulsions for acting as stooges of the ‘third party’. Qadri has no political standing at the national level and his party cannot win even a single seat. But he is capable of creating a law and order situation with the help of his diehard supporters. The only chance of Qadri ever becoming part of the power corridors lies in cooperating with anti-democratic forces.
Imran Khan had illusions of sweeping the 2013 elections, doused by attendance at his public rallies when he formally plunged into the political arena in 2011 and the media hype that he enjoyed during that honeymoon period, without understanding election dynamics and preparing for the ensuing challenges. His party obtained 7.7 million votes out of the total vote cast of 46.2 million, and clinched 28 general seats. The vote cast for the PTI represented only slightly more than 16 percent of the total vote cast, which means that 84 percent of the voters who exercised their right of franchise voted against the PTI.
As against this, the PML -N secured 14.9 million votes. The result exploded the myth of Imran Khan being harbinger of a change. It came as a rude shock to Imran Khan who was hoping to be the next prime minister. He simply could not reconcile with the idea of having been defeated at the ballot and so raised the bogey of rigging in the elections – accusing all the state institutions, the former CJ, former COAS, ECP,the interim government in Punjab, the PML-N and a renowned media house of being responsible for the act.
It was at this point, many believe, that his insatiable desire to reach the power corridors was used and a conspiracy against the elected government, with the active support from the PAT, was weaved. The failure of the move notwithstanding, Imran continued to entertain the illusion that he was the most popular leader in the country. That belief was again shattered during the local bodies elections and polls in AJK.
The PML-N undoubtedly remains the most popular party in the country. According to a report in the electronic media, a report compiled by the Gallup Survey which is likely to be released within a day or so, fifty percent of the people surveyed have said that they would still vote for the PML-N. That is an irrefutable reality. The party may not have overcome all the challenges confronting the country but it has checked them in their tracks to a considerable extent.
The economy has been revived. The IMF director general has also categorically stated that Pakistan is out of the economic crisis. The energy crisis is on the wane and, as a result of power projects initiated under the CPEC, will end by 2018. The situation in Karachi and insurgency in Balochistan have been effectively controlled.
Political analysts believe that if the PML-N rule continues uninterrupted it would surely win the next elections on the basis of this performance. Even Imran Khan in one of his public rallies admitted this fact but qualified it with his usual harangue that the PML-N would purchase the elections.
Imran Khan and co clearly see the writing on the wall, and therefore seem determined to rock the boat through their last-ditch effort to lock down Islamabad and create a law and order situation to force the government to come down. Imran’s statement on the umpire raising his finger this time reinforces this impression.
In a democratic dispensation opposition politicians do have a right to protest against government policies and hold public rallies to win the support of the people for the causes that they are espousing. But threatening to lock down the capital is tantamount to challenging the authority of the government and the state, which descends into the realm of a revolt. The move will also cause difficulties for the people of the twin cities whose right of free movement will be infringed by the blockade.
The government is duty bound to prevent such situations. The SC while hearing the petitions on the Panama leaks was right to remark that it would not become part of any political controversy as it was the duty of the government to maintain law and order and protect the citizens.
It is pertinent to point out that now that the Supreme Court agreed to hear the petitions filed by the PTI and its allies on the Panama leaks and issued notices to the respondent, there was no justification for the PTI to go ahead with Lockdown of Islamabad. Doing so would amount to showing lack of faith in the highest judicial forum of the country.
Even on moral grounds, Imran’s campaign is unsustainable as most of his companions and he himself are owners of offshore companies. Further the Panama leaks have not claimed that the money invested in the companies is necessarily ill-gotten. What Imran and his cohorts are doing is a move against democracy. It is therefore incumbent upon the government, all the state institutions and more so the people, who are the biggest stakeholders in the continuation of democracy, to stand up and thwart the conspiracy.
Democracy is about incremental change and reforms that are carried out through parliament and not on the streets. Imran surely needs to review his brand of politics if he wants to remain relevant to the political landscape of the country.
The writer is a freelance contributor. Email: ashpak10gmail.com