Adhering to the rules of the game
The strong reaction against allowing the PTI MNAs to return to Parliament was not without reason. For seven months Imran Khan challenged the legitimacy of the National Assembly and the Punjab and Sindh Assemblies vowing never to return to them. For months he continued to make derogatory remarks about the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition and the Speaker. He denounced whichever parliamentary leader happened to disagree with his mode of protest. When the Speaker stretched Article 64(1) of the Constitution to legitimise the return of the PTI MNAs, it was widely understood that this was done to sustain the system which was under threat from unruly protests. However, once the PML-N leadership had invited the PTI to the joint session, it was impolitic and counterproductive to allow Khawaja Asif to resort to provocative remarks about the PTI MNAs.
The return of the PTI MNAs to the parliamentary fold marks a U-turn by Imran Khan. When he started the “Azadi March” from Lahore he announced that he would not return from Islamabad without Nawaz Sharif’s resignation. The PTI failed to achieve the unrealistic aim through sit-ins and resignations. The PTI chief knows that the presidential ordinance for the formation of a judicial commission is a far cry from his original demand for the regime change and fresh elections. He has therefore used the joint session on Yemen as a face saving device to seek entry into the NA.
Once the PTI decides to take the parliamentary road as a “genuine opposition”, there is a need on the part of its leadership to abstain from unparliamentary language and avoid reversion to extra-parliamentary forms of struggle. It is time to jointly work out electoral reforms to ensure that the next elections have fewer flaws. There being no permanent friends or enemies in politics the PTI can still find allies in parliament in case it adheres to the rules of the game.