24 hours’ notice

The drawdown nears

As gleefully revealed by Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri, the COAS has told them the government has been put on 24 hours’ notice to resolve the crisis. As Imran Khan put it on Friday the referee has raised his finger. This also shows that the two leaders were in constant touch with quarters that matter during the entire crisis.

The government has provided several face saving opportunities to the PTI and PAT to call off the protests. These failed because the two leaders were not willing to agree on anything short of Nawaz Sharif’s resignation. The government was hoping that with the passage of time many disillusioned protesters would start leaving. Conscious of the demoralisation that was spreading among their ranks, Khan and Qadri continued to give them new dates for the fall of the government.

The government’s version given by two PML-N ministers on Thursday confirms the view that the PML-N failed to take timely decisions and its belated offers turned out to be too little, too late. The decision to allow the police to register PAT’s FIR was taken after a Session Court followed by the Lahore High Court issued orders in this regard. Had the government acted two months back, it would have won the PML-N laurels as it would have been interpreted as a sign of the government’s commitment to the rule of law. Concessions given under duress are taken by the opponents as victories.

The government had accepted five out of six demands presented by the PTI. This did not satisfy the party. Qadri would settle on nothing less than the total annihilation of the system. Finding that the government was refusing to use force, Qadri started preparing his workers for martyrdom. Unlike Imran Khan, Qadri had no stakes in the system. Imran Khan meanwhile needs to ponder over the fall in his ratings in the latest PEW Survey. If the system is derailed as it seems it is going to be, the PTI leader would be held responsible by history of acting as a pawn.