Enough photo ops already
It seems Imran Khan missed what was so evident about parents of Peshawar’s martyred children protesting against his visit to the school. There were glimpses of this discontent when he visited grieving parents immediately after the tragedy – when crying mothers questioned if this was the change they had voted for – but the wound was apparently too fresh to give anybody’s politics much thought. But now, as those who survived braved their way to the school’s reopening, it is time to answer some of the hardest questions of the bereaved.
PTI could have handled the situation better than rushing to a press conference and blaming political opponents. Granted, it did not help that PML-N, in turn, turned to political point scoring of its own, and gave the rebuke a colour that it did not warrant. PTI should, instead, have explained the security lapse especially since there are reports of intel provided well in time, when the party was busy with the dharna in Islamabad. The parents’ concerns were valid and while Imran, for his part, stepped out of his vehicle and tried to calm them, they still deserved better than being treated to a large convoy carrying the PTI leadership to smiles and autographs inside the campus.
It is important that all political parties stop the photo op type of politics that is clearly being played with the APS. True, there were no such protests when the army chief went there, but the military, too, must now let normalcy return to the place, and concentrate their energies on ensuring such incidents are not repeated. Everybody bears responsibility for Peshawar. It was the culmination of long years of bad policy and worse security control. Moving forward, the military is seen rectifying some mistakes of the past, which is why it is being appreciated more. Politicians, too, must stop the blame-game and politics of opportunism that they so readily indulge in. What happened to Imran is the finest example that people do not settle for this type for politics anymore. Enough posturing on Peshawar, politicians now have to deliver.
