Revolution 3.0?
Once again Tahirul Qadri graces the homeland and once again with the same agenda. Also, just like last time, his followers have, once again, forgotten that the last version of his revolution – the second, in fact – turned out just as much a dead end as one before that. And although nobody needs reminding of the discipline and loyalty of his flock, surely everybody hopes, including those willing to die for him, that there will not be a revolution this time around. The first was at the height of winter, the second when late summer heat/humidity and monsoon rains tested the protestors to the core, and with Ramzan and a hostile summer underway, nobody feels like a dharna right now.
Hopefully Qadri will not either. He would have noticed, though, that Rana Sanaullah has been cleared of all charges and reinstated all the while he was tending to the revolution from Canada and England. But his own party is to blame for at least part of the shenanigans. True, Qadri is right that there would be few, if any, places in the world where perpetrators of crimes carry out investigations, and claim upholding democracy, and clear themselves despite overwhelming evidence, and footage, incriminating them. But once the legal process was afoot Qadri’s Awami Tehreek should have partaken, and presented evidence, so it could be in a more convincing position, if nothing else.
The PML-N is right that it is stronger this time, and revolution or no, neither PAT nor PTI can present the kind of problems it did last year. But they should remember that the problems that pushed the ordinary man to back the dharnas remain as they were. The energy crisis has, if anything, worsened. Also, there’s a water crisis threatening to move northwards from Karachi. And the economy, despite Ishaq Dar’s spin, remains stagnant. And one more time the ordinary man may have a platform from which to vent his anger and frustration. Hopefully the right lessons have been learned, and whatever happens will be within the confines of the law. The leaders do their part and then retire to more comfortable surroundings while the workers suffer. This trend, too, must change.