One step forward…
Unfortunately, it did not take too long for the post-Peshawar truce to start unraveling. Who gained more from the end of the dharna – government or PTI – remains debatable, but Imran did the right thing by folding the protest in light of the tragedy. Yet barely a month into the peace the gloves are beginning to come off again. Most observers were convinced that the government would never bend to probing the election to the degree Imran demands. But even they are surprised how quickly this point has been reached. Now there’s a dharna convention on the 18th, and potentially more rounds of confrontation if there isn’t a thaw very soon.
Things are not much better in Sindh, where MQM is up in arms against the PPP government for excessive and unwarranted use of the state machinery. The show of resentment that Farooq Sattar led in the Assembly spoke volumes about the kind of confrontation that is in the offing unless issues are resolved immediately. The latest grudge concerns five custodial killings but the mistrust goes well beyond recent issues. PPP upset MQM to no small extent when Bilawal was (temporarily) catapulted to the top, and it has pretty much been downhill since the young chairman’s provocative remarks.
It bears remembering that it took a monumental national tragedy to finally achieve political consensus in what are clearly very troubling times for the country. It is, therefore, for those in power to ensure that the smooth sailing continues. Allowing needless problems to prop up at this time is ill-advised. The N-league must realise that it stands to lose the most if politics of agitation is reverted to. And as such, it must take immediate steps to diffuse the tension once again building with the PTI. Similarly, PPP seems forgetting that after its 2013 election rout, its reduced position in Sindh is already threatened by paralysis. MQM smartly said that the provincial government was trying to defeat the spirit behind the 21stamendment by reverting to the “barbarity” of the ‘90s. These are fights that both seasoned parties can do without. After the one step forward after Peshawar, they must not take two steps back, especially when the ceasefire favours them more than their rivals.
