The stalemate has already cost more than it should have
The only positive signal is that the government on one hand and the PTI and PAT on the other still continue to hold talks. What does not bode well is the obstinacy on the part of the protesting leaders which stands in the way of a negotiated settlement. The government maintains that it has accepted the demands for a Supreme Court enquiry into the allegedly large scale riggings and that it also agrees to the demand for electoral reforms. The PTI however continues to insist on the Prime Minister’s resignation during the period of the proposed enquiry. Former President Asif Ali Zardari has also supported finding a way out through talks. Every passing day adds to the isolation of the protesters as none of the major opposition parties is willing to support them. The entire Balochistan Assembly, including PML-Q legislators, has adopted a resolution rejecting the demands for the resignation of the Prime Minister and dissolution of national and provincial assemblies.
The move by the PTI to extend the sit-ins to other cities can lead to confrontation with opponents. Elements in the PML-N are keen to hold public rallies to oppose the protesters. PKMAP chief Mehmud Khan Achakzai has announced countrywide demos to defend democracy. The JUI-F has threatened to march towards Islamabad against the PTI and PAT sit-in. The polarisation should not be allowed to spread.
The leaders of the PTI and PAT who live in air-conditioned containers need to think about the plight of their followers who are holding the sit-in under the open sky for the last ten days. The PAT workers who include a large number of women and children brought from other cities are all the more vulnerable. Their tribulations started over three weeks back when they were called to Lahore and a few days later directed to march on Islamabad. While the PTI should accept the deal offered to it, the PAT and the government should both accept whatever verdict LHC delivers regarding the registration of case against the PML-N leaders.
