Compromise or chaos?

With Additional District and Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal rejecting PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s plea seeking the suspension of non-bailable arrest warrants issued in the Toshakhana case and redirecting authorities to arrest Imran and present him in court on March 18, it seems Imran may finally see the inside of a courtroom come Saturday. Per legal experts, Imran’s successful – also seen as arrogant – maneuvering of legal and political matters to avoid appearing in court may just have now finally forced the court’s hands. There are few who would be able to find justification for the way Imran has managed to flout court orders till now. The courts have already given him unprecedented relief and the past two days all of Pakistan has seen an alarming saga play out live on TV: the police trying to arrest Imran from his Zaman Park residence but being met with petrol bombs. The IG of Punjab has claimed that the police were not carrying weapons so as to avoid casualties but were injured after stones were pelted at them by PTI workers and supporters. On the other side stands the PTI which has alleged that the police have fired at PTI protesters. Meanwhile, residents in and around Zaman Park continue to suffer because of the chaos that has been unnecessary at best and cynically cruel at worst: a popular leader sending out a wrong message about a court order that doesn’t even have persecutionary undertones and which in fact would have been easily settled had he just appeared in court. Unfortunately, the past two days have seen willful trampling of the state’s writ – and that too by a powerful and popular leader who claims democratic credentials and whose party stands for justice and ‘rule of law’. But even more disturbing have been some of the statements and images coming from the PTI side mainly on social media. When party representatives issue unveiled threats regarding law enforcement, the situation can escalate for the much worse, especially in a country where things take seconds to turn to mob rule. Such threats against state institutions that are only implementing a court order are not just dangerous but can lead to violence that may go beyond the point of no return.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has yet again called for national unity and said that the political leadership need to sit together to find solutions like they did in 2014. This could be another attempt at an olive branch to Imran Khan, who till now has refused to budge. Imran too spoke up yesterday though and surprisingly said that he will be willing to talk to anyone for the country’s sake. Observers say that more than the political class this may be aimed at the establishment. It is important for the PTI to realize that without negotiating with the political leadership of the country, there will be no end to political uncertainty and chaos. Maybe it is time for all sides to take a step back and think of the future of democracy. The prime minister has made a move again; it is now up to Imran Khan – will he opt for peace or choose further chaos? Pakistan has a lot on its plate right now – from economic crisis to rising terrorism, and continuous political chaos will do no favours to the country’s democratic setup. Burning down the whole already-crumbling system is not the band-aid Imran and his party seem to think it is. Right now, the country needs healing. Only compromise can promise that.