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Thursday March 28, 2024

Mirror, mist and mystery

By Ghazi Salahuddin
November 03, 2019

This weekend, the visage that is spread across the political horizon is that of Maulana Fazlur Rehman. His ‘Azadi march’ has landed in Islamabad and, as expected, he has raised the ante by giving an ultimatum to Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign in two days – today. This also means that the march has transformed itself into a dharna.

Obviously, Maulana’s demand is untenable. It will not happen. But there are still bound to be consequences. After all, we have this mammoth congregation of committed followers of the Maulana, waiting for its forward movement. Tensions are mounting towards a climax.

In the mirror of Friday’s feverish developments, the entire scene is shrouded in mist and mystery. More questions have been added to the ones that have swirled in the minds of ordinary citizens who are already stunned by rising economic and social pressures. They feel sure that there is a game plan somewhere for a particular outcome of the crisis that is now gathering force.

In living rooms and also on pavement tea-stalls, Maulana’s protest movement has for some time been viewed in a conspiratorial light. So, in addition to analysing the grand show that was staged on Kashmir Highway in Islamabad on Friday, they have to deal with the remarks made by the military spokesman rather late in the evening.

DGPR Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor joined a news channel’s transmission over the phone to respond to Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s speech in which he had asked the institutions to be impartial. Maj Gen Ghafoor said that the army was an impartial institution and that it supported the democratically elected government.

According to published reports of his remarks, the ISPR chief said that there was no point in levelling charges against the army and that no one would be allowed to destroy peace in the country. “Chaos is not in the interest of the country”, he said.

On his part, Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was in Gilgit on Friday to address the 72nd Gilgit-Baltistan Independence Day celebrations, spoke in his usual belligerent mode and used the occasion to scoff at the opposition’s show in Islamabad. Some observers suggested that this attitude was unbecoming of a prime minister and would serve to further aggravate the situation.

In any case, a prominent feature of the ‘Azadi march’ is that it brought the entire opposition, particularly the two mainstream parties, on the same platform with Maulana Fazlur Rehman. On Friday, both Shahbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, made high-spirited speeches and joined the demand for the removal of the incumbent government. However, the participants of the march were all followers of Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

There were whispers about the virtual absence of the PML-N activists when the march arrived in Lahore, even when the ailing Nawaz Sharif had asked his party to fully support the JUI movement. So far as the PPP is concerned, it had already expressed its reservations about the use of the religion card. At another level, the liberal opinion is watching the emerging line-up with some apprehension. There is also this feeling that the Pakistani society is radicalised in a manner that only a religious party or slogan can muster a mass protest. This also raises a question about the potential of the centrist and mainstream parties to lead a social movement that would generate the power of the street in a meaningful sense.

In any case, it is Maulana Fazlur Rehman who has demonstrated his ability to launch this massive and meticulously planned protest movement. So much so that all the major opposition parties have momentarily decided to jump on the bandwagon. But how can this momentum be taken forward? There is, beyond doubt, a lot of distress and discontent at the popular level that could be mobilised into action. But where is the strategy to do that?

It is interesting to note that the two major opposition parties, the PML-N and the PPP, have decided that they would not become a part of the ‘dharna’ announced by JUI. It is reported that the leaders of the two leading parties had already informed the maulana that they would only attend the public meeting and would not support a sit-in.

There is a hint here that Maulana had not taken other parties into confidence about the sit-in that has created the possibility of violence and disorder. Perhaps, there are some other tactical moves in the offing on the part of different players, including the powers that be. But unintended and unforeseen consequences cannot be ruled out.

Consequently, we need to hold our breath and, in the first place, wait for today’s deadline to pass. There is general agreement that Maulana is a seasoned and shrewd politician. This is the moment of truth for him. For this brief interregnum in the national course of events, he stands under the spotlight, at the centre of the stage.

Waiting in the wings, of course, are the other players who may or may not have scripts that they would have to follow. Because of Nawaz Sharif’s illness and the absence of Maryam, the PML-N is somewhat unsettled. Still, one could say that the die is cast and the party will have to exploit the unfolding situation in whatever manner it can. It should be the same for the PPP, though its lack of support in Punjab has restricted its options.

What would be the best-case scenario in the present circumstances? Would it be hard to come out of this predicament without someone or some party getting deeply hurt? An important factor is the message delivered by the military spokesman. Even otherwise, an incumbent government, even as bumbling as Imran Khan’s, cannot easily be dislodged. But a crisis has to be resolved, one way or another.

A political storm has certainly been raised. High winds, laden with deep emotions, are blowing across the minds and hearts of the hapless populace of this unfortunate nation. The big question is whether this storm, through whatever stratagem, can breach the citadel of power?

The writer is a senior journalist.

Email: ghazi_salahuddin@hotmail.com