Go home PTI supporters

By
Zeeshan Salahuddin
-
53
169

Change takes time

There is an argument to be made that Pakistanis favour the status quo over the revolution. The other side of this coin insists that the status quo has been challenged, and perhaps even changed. Both sides are right. Nawaz Sharif maintained the status quo, Imran Khan changed it.

The lion of Punjab now rules this familiar jungle. Promising motorways, airports and bus services, Nawaz Sharif rode on the tidal wave of rhetoric generated by his urban development projects and his six nuclear detonations establishing Pakistan as a nuclear power, and swept through the country. With the tally hovering between 125 and 130 seats for the PML-N in the centre, the great lions of Punjab need literally no other party to form the federal government. They might extend an olive branch to old compatriots like Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s JUI-F, perhaps in an attempt to weaken an opposition that will inevitably be forged out with some permutation of rival parties, but the lion reigns supreme.

Despite allegations, it stands to reason that national rigging of this scale and calibre is implausible and improbable. The Sharifs’ love-hate relationship with the general population, demonstrated most visibly by the on-again, off-again relationship they have had with the central seat of power, continues unabated by the political pendulum that seems to swing only between the PML-N and the PPP.

On the other side of this coin are you, the PTI supporters, who rose to the occasion for Imran Khan. You stood in line for 10 hours in certain cases, rode around urban centers in vehicles adorned with party flags, and made a stand beyond the relatively safe comfort zones of your homes. You ought to be lauded for your resilience, your affinity for what you perceive to be positive change, and your dedication in the street protests post-elections. The protests are warranted, and as citizens you are well within your rights to demonstrate and share your dissatisfaction with the results. But all of it is for naught, as beyond the scope of what you “burgers” wish to see, the “illiterates” have already chosen our collective fate. There are three reasons you should rethink your role, go home and prepare for the coming fight.

First, you are leading to class warfare that will inevitably hurt your long-term goals. Voting your mind is not backwards or wrong. Outside the security blankets of the urbanites, there lives a Pakistan that is so disenfranchised, so far out on the fringes, that it cannot imagine voting for leaders with no political track record and no sense of real identification with their problems. Just because the galvanized upper class and upper middle class can afford to look past putting food on their tables and into what the future may hold, does not mean these concerns are shared by the rest of the population. Their idea of democracy and the strength of their vote matters no less and no more than yours does. Former Law Minister Punjab Rana Sanaullah already referred to the protestors as “mummy daddy” in order to alienate them further from those that simply do not place much faith in Imran Khan’s ideology. And the ruse is working, as the other side is already labeling this as class warfare, saying the rich are trying to impose their version of democracy, truth and liberty on the uneducated ‘paindoos’. Imran Khan’s battle has only just begun, and the fact that his message was not able to permeate the mindset of the middle and lower classes will need to be categorically and systematically addressed by the PTI in the coming years. Because one thing is for certain: without these votes, there can be no decisive victory in the centre, and these very votes are being ridiculed and estranged further. Go home PTI supporters, you’re disillusioned!

Second, you are on a fine line between supporting your favourite leader, and being seen as worshippers of a one-man cult. Imran Khan, in less than two years, has become a force to be reckoned with, a new political awakening that has caused the Pakistani Twitteratti and the drawing room warriors to turn out in droves, cast their votes, and flood Facebook with photos of purple thumbs. It was not enough for a clean sweep, but it was enough to forever change the status quo. The PTI secured 30-plus seats in the national assembly, and it will likely form the government in the highly volatile KP.

The PTI supporters should celebrate this, it is a remarkable accomplishment. But at this point, with protests that have been largely registered, and the ECP re-polling/recounting in certain constituencies, as well as FAFEN’s preliminary report stating that these elections do “reflect the free will of the electorate through a relatively fair process”, this is becoming a tad pointless. You wear the Kardar shirts, wail for a lost future where you could swing the Bat of Justice against the forces of Corruption, and imagine Imran Khan as the long-awaited messiah who has been thwarted by widespread rigging and widespread ‘jaahils’. He has his work cut out for him. He has a tough fight in the centre, trying to keep the government in check, and he has to bring transformation to the KP in order to forever cement his reputation as an agent of change. Help him move forward, don’t entrench him in what is done and mostly over with. Go home PTI supporters, you’re disillusioned!

Third and finally, you fail to see what this country has gained in the process. We are a long way from the ever-elusive idea of democratic maturity, but we have crawled a few inches towards it, and we have fought and bled and suffered to gain every last inch. We are the first people in the 66-year history of the country to not only witness a civilian handover of power, but also to figure out how this process works, and how we can continue to improve on it. Despite 180 killings in 30-plus incidents of election violence, the public defiantly turned out to vote, with initial ECP estimates at 60 per cent, up from the 44.4 per cent in 2008. The marginalized transvestites were not only allowed to vote in the elections, several transvestite candidates ran for elections. Badam Zarri rose for her people in what the foreign media describes as “the lawless tribal frontier”. Despite vast differences in political ideologies, all parties united to push the government and the ECP for timely elections, and as promised we all voted on May 11, 2013. A lion roared, an arrow missed the mark, and a bat scored a few crucial runs. And right after elections, Nawaz Sharif paid a friendly visit to Imran Khan in the hospital.

This is unprecedented. This is history in the making. We cannot be held back by our collective need to impose our individualistic version of how it should be on everyone else. We must come together, support the system. Go home PTI supporters, you’re disillusioned! Instead of decrying the results, you can appreciate and recognize how far we have come, and maybe, just maybe, these small victories will lead to something bigger, better and beautiful.

Change takes time. This is not the end. This is just the beginning.

The writer is the Executive Producer for the Planning and Research Department at Capital TV,

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53 COMMENTS

  1. I think the writer is disillusioned. Imran Khan's movement did not take 2 years, but a staggering 17 years of sheer hard work and dedication. Not all the supporters are burgers, as this "Burger writer" himself has implied.

    To decry the result is the right of every Pakistani. We want change. Not the same old corrupt leaders, who conducted the nuclear blasts, and then imposed "emergency" the next day, banning the transfer of dollars. And his family silently and with full corruption transferred millions with ease.

    If you are happy to see the same "paindoo" back in power, so be it, you "paindoo burger" deserve people like Nawaz Sharif, who have been in power since the age of Zia ul Haq, and continue to loot this country.

    Don't censor my comment Mr Paindoo Burger

    • I totally agree! This writer has no idea what he is talking about. Let's see if he jumps on the revolution band-wagon as that starts rolling slowly…

      Let's break it down for Mr. Zeeshan:

      1) Pakistan voters turned up in massive figures for the first time in history
      2) THE ELECTION WAS RIGGED
      3) everyone now wants to know where the heck their vote went!?

      Now mind you if most of those people who are protesting are supporting PTI, it just so happens to be that Imran Khan is the reason record number of voters turned up! GO FIGURE!

      And check your facts before you write/publish an article.

      Thumbs down!

      • Imran Khan was not the reason, I did casted the vote because of the previous corrupt government due to which we suffered a lot ,and i casted vote for PML(N) . Because in my opinion the best choice was Nawaz Sharif. And for all you IK himself said that CM of K.P.K Pervaiz Khattak was selected on the ground that he was the most experienced ,that itself means that PML(N) (well experienced) was the correct choice i made, happy on that 😀

        • You voted for PML(N); good for you. The sad truth that you cannot face is that the Elections in the entire country were rigged, regardless of who you or I voted for. The system is corrupt; the people are suffering.

          Living in this day in age; I don't blame you for not being able to recognize friend from foe. But I would certainly recommend digging a little deeper into Nawaz sharifs corruption, his wealth, why he keeps it outside of Pakistan? Find out what Nawaz has done for the country, find out how much he has stolen, read thru the wikileaks documents and what he has said to the USA and other powers. Read about his decision of the Nuclear tests back in the 90s.

          Open your eyes. I'm sure Allah will help us all find the truth if we truly seek it.

  2. it is really wrong to say that rich people of certain localities ahve supported Pti the pti candidate who won from Lahore has taken lead from a relatively less fortunate locality of Lahore/

  7. Mr. zeeshan: your thought process definitely needs some maturity. It seems you are too blind to see the behavior of masses (including elites). I am sure one day you will also prove asset to NS just like other “Lifafa journalists”

  8. These so called pseudo intellectuals simply write such unrealistic stuff after having discussed this stuff in a circle of their own five to ten people. Stop misleading people.

    • Yeah you are write if one writes what you support is wright and when something is written against you ,you call it unrealistic stuff . I can judge the level of your maturness from this comment 🙂

  9. Everybody is an analyst these days… Go home boy ure drunk.. get ureself some corporate job or try lollywood if ya want fame…pathetic

  12. Mr zeeshan …you forgot to mention that to have cast vote need brain and knowledge which was only proved by Pakhtoon…because pakhtoon believe in Ideology rather than provencilizm…

    • That means you are saying that we don't have brain well i feel sory for guys like you seriously so immature you people are PATHETIC !! And for your Information if thats the case then why did PTI wasn't able to get complete majority in K.P.K ,If what you are saying about Pakhtoons is correct :),go home you are drunk+grow up!

  14. Zeeshan Sahib you, me and all of Pakistani's wants to see a better Pakistan.
    This is the reason we all try to chose the one who is not corrupt
    but ask you self how much monthly tax do you pay and how much tax your leader pays, you will find the answer.
    by the way you have done well to gain attention,

  15. Mr. Zeeshan, I am Punjabi, Pakhtoon, Baloch, Mohajir, Sindhi, Kashmiri, and Gilgit Baltastani. But most importantly, I am Pakistani! Imran Khan united us in a way that no one would imagine. Second, the level of rigging that happened in these "elections", only a few countries in the world could have surpassed. We are called insafians for a reason – there was no insaaf in these "elections" – it was a paid advert. Stop writing your nonsense – we the PEOPLE are smarter than reading through your rhetoric. Learn to live with reality. Cheers.

    • Yeah you are wright rigging was done by all parties including the one's saying themselves as Insafians in NA-125 and also ,that Jahangir Tareen and also many others well 🙂 That proves how smart you are 😀

  16. PTI supporters are dreamers and dreamers never give up easily. Let them live with their dreams: Maybe, one day they reach them. Life is never certain; it keeps changing unpredictably and unexpectedly. Obvously, there was rigging but we can't be sure it was as much as is being projected. Maulana Fazlurrehman and ANP are also complaining of rigging in KPK. So, PTI might also have done rigging.

  18. how many “burgers” r there in kpk who voted PTI… PTI represents all classes of society dear writer

  19. Moronic wramblings of a defeatist. PTI is a movement for poor people. The uppet middle class has nothing to lose from the status quo.

  21. I solute pti great movement but know the time,you should go home and want to make IMRAN KHAN as a great OPPOSITION LEADER?
    Inshallah PAKISTAN stand in good position

  22. Don't you see what Imran Khan and PTI has done for this country, people of upper class whom your calling "burgers" are out there on the streets fighting for the rights of all including the poor and your calling us the Insafians disillusioned …

  24. lol I believe he first needs to learn how to write an article… this is nothing but a biased article…trying to impose his own biased perceptions…

  26. it is really wrong to say that rich people of certain localities ahve supported Pti the pti candidate who won from Lahore has taken lead from a relatively less fortunate locality of Lahore/

  33. Mr. zeeshan: your thought process definitely needs some maturity. It seems you are too blind to see the behavior of masses (including elites). I am sure one day you will also prove asset to NS just like other "Lifafa journalists"

  35. These so called pseudo intellectuals simply write such unrealistic stuff after having discussed this stuff in a circle of their own five to ten people. Stop misleading people.

  37. You guy are all morons! The writer has just made a solid argument in support of PTI #Read #JahilQaum

  38. Class warfare? This is ridiculous. It is not class warfare to stand up against blatant injustice. And incidentally, it is the medias responsibility to ensure that it doesnt get misrepresented as such. It was this authors responsibility to point this out, rather than repeating the words of unscrupulous politicians who will say and do anything to get what they want.

  40. The "mitti pao" approach led us into the mess we are in right now. Elections may well be free and fair by and large, but cases where there has been blatant rigging cannot be simply ignored. The intelligentsia should be siding with the side of conscience rather than pragmatism.

  41. If imran plays friendly match with nawaz sharif then what chang3 do you expect???.. if cm of kpk 70 years old man with allegation of curroption that change u expect from pti…

  43. This author seems to be a part of the status quo. I recommend you disconnect yourself from the situation, do some investigative reporting, and then come back and report your findings.

    This article falls into the ditches of doom.

  47. I think the writer has his head stuck far up MQM's leaders backside, hence he cant read or write straight.

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