Dangers of ignoring a steady drumbeat of bad headlines
The repressive methods being employed by the government against the PTI workers are hurting it more than Imran Khan. Islamabad High Court had to order police not to harass the activists. The imposition of Section 144 in Rawalpindi failed to stop Sheikh Rashid from fulminating against the government in the glare of media cameras. The government has been rightly criticised for using force to disperse Imran Khan’s workers in Bani Gala while allowing a banned sectarian outfit to hold its convention in the capital. The blocking of the Peshawar-Pindi motorway led to the death of an army officer and serious injuries to another. The incident was widely covered by media
Blocking the roads has caused harassment to thousands of commuters in Punjab intending to visit Islamabad or travel to KP. Erection of barricades on highways linking KP with Punjab meanwhile elicited strong response from the neigbouring province. KP government accused both federal and Punjab administrations of converting KP into a prison through the measure. Chief Minister Pervez Khattak threatened not to allow the Prime Minister to address public meetings in the province ruled by the PTI if roads were not immediately cleared. Meanwhile, cargo transporters – who claim to move 95% of Pakistan’s import and export freight – have threatened to stage a strike from Monday if 3,000 trucks seized in Punjab were not immediately released.
The recourse to repressive measures has failed to dampen the spirit of the PTI activists or that of Imran Khan who has called on his followers to break every obstacle to reach Bani Gala on Monday. The government needs to realise that it cannot afford to continue blocking the roads, imposing Section 144, and arresting hundreds of activists every time the opposition announces protest marches over the rest of its tenure. Before the government’s ratings start dropping like a stone it needs to agree to the PPP and PTI’s demand to get the opposition-sponsored bill on Panama Papers passed in Parliament. . This alone can bring the much needed peace to the country.
