And what it doesn’t imply
Apparently, Imran Khan’s call for non cooperation, supposedly to push his case for Nawaz Sharif’s resignation, even took most of his party rank and file by surprise. It typified one of those cases, according to chatter, where the party chairman takes unilateral decisions, no matter the gravity of the situation. In hindsight, the strategy backfired, and Khan had to move quickly to recover lost space; hence, probably, the decision to up the ante, moving to the Red Zone, with added threats.
Some of PTI’s supporters, though, have taken this call rather seriously, which can have serious repercussions. Already there have been numerous cases of people refusing to pay toll taxes on the motorway, even arguing over the GST component of restaurant receipts. No one has cared to explain how such tactics can force Nawaz Sharif to resign, especially when major trade, business, political and legal bodies have ridiculed the boycott. If not checked, such acts of defiance can and will lead to needless clashes. In the end, it is the people, not the N league, which will suffer.
It seems the non cooperation call was more a spur of the moment call than a well thought out strategy. Khan sb is reminded that such tactics are a long term phenomenon, and were more a feature of colonial days, when parliament represented outside forces, legislating on behalf of occupying governments. Khan’s comparison with the American revolution, too, is misguided and unfounded. The rebellion then, of which non cooperation was a central part, was based on the popular Boston Tea Party chant, “No taxation without representation”. Here, he was a part of the legislative system, at least till he resigned.
The call is dangerous for other reasons as well. His followers have already formed a habit of challenging state writ and getting away with it. And while it might suit the PTI for the time being, it also sets a very dangerous precedent. These people are being encouraged to take the law in their own hands when the situation does not suit them. In the process, they are also encouraged to disregard not only the law of the land, but also democratic ideals they are supposedly defending. In the interest of Pakistani politics, the PTI’s future, and Pakistan itself, Imran Khan is advised to call of his so called non cooperation movement, and urge his followers not to disrupt everyday commerce by troubling people who have nothing to do with the government or Khan’s revolution. This sort of defiance runs contrary to PTI’s own manifesto and stands to achieve little for the party or the country.