Minus one?

With the ‘first phase’ of its ‘Haqiqi Azadi Movement’ coming to an end without much in hand, the PTI and its Chairman Imran Khan have now started talking about ‘minus one’ formula. According to Imran and his party, the government and its ‘handlers’ are scared of the PTI’s popularity and therefore are going forward with the minus one formula by getting rid of him through disqualification. Now these are serious charges given that the government cannot disqualify Khan on its own. From Toshakhana to foreign funding to terrorism charges to contempt of court proceedings, there are cases against Imran Khan in the courts and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). In the threatening of a female judge and the constant attacks on the government and the ECP and CEC, Imran Khan’s anger and frustration is now quite palpable.

But the reality is that the PDM government did not force Imran to misdeclare his assets, they did not force him to threaten a female judge of the lower judiciary, they did not initiate contempt proceedings against him, they did not stop him from tendering an unconditional apology, they did not stop the foreign funding case from moving ahead for eight years so why are they blaming the government for a ‘technical knockout’ when none of these things – except the terrorism case, which was condemned by most – are due to the government? On top of that, the PTI is demanding elections at a time when even by-elections have been postponed due to floods and the unavailability of security forces who are busy in flood relief efforts. How can general elections be held when one-third of the country is under water while more than 33 million people have been affected?

Punjab, meanwhile, continues to remain an uncertain question. There are rumours of another change in the province, something Imran has blamed unseen forces for. Whether it materializes or not remains to be seen but political observers say that moves are being made by the federal government to get Punjab back. So far the strategy seems to be to get some resignations of members of the Punjab government so that its numbers decrease and then the governor could call for a vote of confidence. This will lead to yet another round of voting for the chief minister’s slot. Political uncertainty with an economic crisis and an even bigger humanitarian crisis on the hands will do no good to any political party. Observers believe that the PML-N would not like to go into the next elections without Punjab in its kitty. Thus, it would be better if all stakeholders, especially the PTI, sit with the government so that such political intrigues take a backseat while a future course of action can be forged through a political consensus.

Imran is banking on his popularity but it was this overconfidence that led him not to offer an unconditional apology in his contempt case for which he will be indicted next week. Threatening institutions and the government will not lead to elections but if he decides to go back to parliament – something that even the courts are now hinting at – the PTI can hold talks with the government on a way forward. At a time when Pakistan’s economy is struggling and the losses by the floods have gone into billions of dollars, the country needs less street agitation and more unity.