Qadri flees the ‘revolutionary’ scene again
Qadri’s ‘safe exit’ strategy barely surprised Pakistan this time, keeping in view that he has a history of abandoning the ‘revolution’ at critical times under the camouflage of a political charter of demands, and perhaps as some may say, an under the table agreement. The players involved in this ‘agreement’ remain in the shadows, just like old times.
The ‘tsunami’ wave of revolution has subsided but it struggles to regain itself via ‘jalsas’ in other parts of Pakistan, as it digests the abandonment of Dr Tahirul Qadri at such a crucial time. Qadri flees the scene ‘again’, and he might not return this time and his vacation in Pakistan may be over for good.
On the other hand, the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, lost a significant amount of the supplementary ‘revolutionary’ crowd after Qadri packed up and directed his followers to do so in the wake of an upcoming countrywide revolution. The dynamics of Khan’s politics might suffer a substantial amount of mutilation after his only ally’s estrangement, but he would probably recover with some scars. The rise of mob politics in Pakistan has some interesting and insightful lessons for all political players who have a stake in the current political scenario.
It is debatable whether Qadri’s exit this time is the end of his political career or the start of his wholesome ‘democratic’ revolution. Previously, he manufactured unrest in the capital during Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) regime, led by the Machiavellian political wizard, Asif Ali Zardari. Zardari has a certain prowess in playing his best cards at the right time, and dismantling any form of outrage by the public or political opponents with a stroke of politeness. Zardari proved to be a greater political statesman than his highness, Mr Nawaz Sharif, and he curtailed the unrest with minimum damage.
It is amusing how Qadri’s urge to unleash the Pakistani revolution from its ‘cage’ keeps taking about-turns, and at the same time, how his ‘revolutionary pangs’ reoccur with a seemingly furious vengeance every time
It is amusing how Qadri’s urge to unleash the Pakistani revolution from its ‘cage’ keeps taking about-turns, and at the same time, how his ‘revolutionary pangs’ reoccur with a seemingly furious vengeance every time. Qadri needs to decide once and for all whether he wants to bring in the ‘boys’ to mend the faulty democratic system or the decline of ‘badshahat’ (kingship) or he wants to contest legitimate elections via the ‘democratic’ path.
To top it all off, Qadri miserably fails to justify his audacious actions to his ‘true followers’ who seem to be clueless every time, whether they are supposed to applaud their leader’s ‘strategy’ or not when he reiterates his fiery rhetoric. All our politicians can learn a thing or two about theatrics from the great ‘Allama’ Qadri, who happens to have a massive cult following because of his wide-reaching religious endeavours.
Let’s go back in history and delve deeper into the origin of Qadri’s enlightened journey from being a religious leader to a revolutionary leader. As they say, Mr Qadri has had deep affiliations with a certain authoritarian regime, which changed the relation of Islam with Pakistan for all times to come. Some even say that Qadri was directly involved in creating the glorious constitution of the ‘Islamic’ Republic of Pakistan. After that he expanded his income prospects with religious processions around the globe, and setting up religious institutions on every nook and corner. There is no doubt about Qadri’s strong religious following but his ostensibly rebellious political following continues to arouse the nation’s suspicion more than ever before, given the current political scenario.
Looking at Khan and Qadri’s alliance in retrospect, we see a linear pattern of strategy, Qadri following Khan’s footsteps revolving around the ‘revolutionary agenda’. Qadri claims that Khan was aware of this pack-up before time but at the same time Khan gives a public statement, denying the former ally’s claim of prior knowledge. This gives a new twist to the ‘revolution’ as the two allies part ways in terms of strategy and future plans.
Khan remains adamant on not leaving the scene until the PM resigns whereas Qadri moves on towards mobilising his political following in the form of an organised political party. Some have even gone to the extent of saying that this staged protest was a strategy to test the waters of Pakistan before he makes his move, entering the political domain via ‘democratic’ elections in a formal manner in the near future. This leaves it open-ended and uncertain, especially if Qadri manages to pull off all the public processions in various parts of the country, as planned. If he successfully launches his formal political career after using this protest as a preparatory battleground then Qadri would again become the perfect embodiment of the unification of the church and state, which might lead to a new wave of ‘enlightened’ fanaticism in the country.
Khan remains adamant on not leaving the scene until the PM resigns whereas Qadri moves on towards mobilising his political following in the form of an organised political party
On a side note, the PPP tries to claim centre-stage and revitalises its politics in Punjab, but its future seems uncertain due to geographical and ethnic barriers towards its popularity. PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari strikes with full force and takes on all his political opponents at once, while taking an overtly aggressive stance towards India as well. This public rhetoric might not benefit him as such, if he is not able to muster public support on the grass roots level, but let’s see if he can galvanise the youth to his aid, as Khan has done in the past, with some help from those trained in the art of information warfare.
The way Qadri dehumanises political emotion by orchestrating public outrage and invoking religious references is commendable, but despicable. Coming back to Qadri and his bleak future in ‘democratic’ politics, he might procure some seats with the help of those who wish to remain in the shadows.
Qadri has significant following at the grass roots level but it is mainly entrenched in the fact that this following comes due to his status as a religious cult leader and not because of his political endeavours. This is further evident when he employs religion to justify his political actions and tries to invoke public sentiment, while quoting from religion. It is a pity to see those mindless followers who genuinely believed in his cause up till now, but then he gives ludicrous statements to cover it up by saying that the pack-up was just a ‘change of strategy’, and nothing else.
In conclusion, Qadri and Khan are desperately trying to shun off their apolitical roots, and trying to ground themselves in Pakistani politics by trying hard to appear as populist leaders. The upcoming elections are just a preparatory battleground whereas the real war begins in the general elections of 2018. These imminent general elections would be a true test of their capabilities, and only if they manage to orchestrate a clean-sweep together, then their political prospects would be solidified. Until then, that’s all folks because the wave of revolution keeps swinging to and fro.