Politics of rallies

One common theme

There’s been so much politics of rallies and agitation of late that it becomes difficult to keep track of different sets of demands sometimes. PTI is going on with the dharna and jalsas, of course, with Nov30 shaping up to be another collision with the government. PAT, with the return of Dr Qadri, is revatilised, and health permitting, the leader will aim for a two-thirds majority in the next elections – whenever they are held – to introduce the latest chapter of his ‘revolution’. Meanwhile, the Q-league has also gone active, and so has Gen Musharraf’s APML, interestingly, now that the contours of the government’s case against the former president have taken a very different form. And the Jamaat also chipped in with its version of an Islamic welfare state, complete with Munawwar Hasan’s typical, controversial reading of jihad and terrorism.

The PPP’s case is even more curious. It played the pivotal role in keeping the N-league in power, apparently, when dharna pressure was at its height. But it also distanced itself from the government just as Bilawal took the reins and took to the streets. The same Aitzaz Ahsan that delivered the famous speech in the Assembly – criticising the government but also supporting it – minced few words not much later in the Senate, when he warned that the party would stand in the opposite camp if the N-league didn’t pull its socks up. And judging from the PPP’s activities, especially in Punjab, it seems it too is posturing for a show of street power.

Yet confusing at it is, this politics of agitation is not without a recurring theme; nobody is not too impressed by the Sharifs’ way of running government, the legitimacy of the May ’13 election notwithstanding. The most important ministries are not looked after properly, neither the prime minister nor his senior ministers take the Assembly seriously, and there has been no legislation of any note since the election. In dealing with the protests, too, the N-league has not shown much wisdom. And once the pressure was off, it took little time in reverting to the complacency and hubris that has come to define it. Now, as Nov30 draws near, there is a need for it to revise its strategy. Instead of insisting on a forceful approach, it should still look to resolve outstanding issues with PTI. It is important to provide Imran with a flexible way out of the confrontation which, should push come to shove, he can fall back on. Its current policy of muscling its way through will not work as combined opposition pressure mounts, and more than the N-league, the people of Pakistan will suffer. Nawaz is advised to reach out to Imran and take the first step in diffusing this crisis, setting an important precedent and ensuring to the public that the government is keen to remove ambiguities rather than add to them.