Again
The way the government was, indeed, dilly-dallying over the judicial commission, another confrontation with PTI was only a matter of time. And going by Imran Khan’s recent statements, it seems that time might have come. And since the information minister’s reaction contained only counter-accusations, not a roadmap to the commission as promised, it could be back to the streets sooner rather than later. PTI has, of course, promised this strike to be decisive – that is if push does indeed come to shove, as looks likely.
The ruling party does not seem as concerned about this particular problem as it was in the days of the dharna. Perhaps it calculates that similar pressure cannot be exerted again. But Imran, to his credit, rolled the dharna just when jalsas spread across the country had begun regaining lost momentum. As city after city shut down, it was the government that appeared on the back foot. And Nawaz has done nothing in the days since Peshawar to show that he would honour his word. Indeed, sceptics’ concerns, that the prime minister would never green-light a process that might discover voting irregularities, now seem coming true.
When the gloves come off this time, Nawaz Sharif might not find the same ‘commitment to democracy’ among opposition benches. His record of governance has been horrible – stumbling from one self-created crisis to another, with no sign of responsibility. And it’s not as if the PM used the post-Peshawar unity to much advantage. The government is still without a narrative, and it is still unable to establish its writ on elements that continue to harbour sympathies for the Taliban. If Nawaz and his advisors think Imran will not be able to whip up a storm, they are mistaken. People are fed up with the present government, and it wouldn’t take much to bring them out to protest. There is still time for the N-league to make sensible decisions and avoid unnecessary provocations that will add to the country’s problems.