Now it’s personal
The PML-N government’s misfortunes are of its own making, be these related to the disclosures made in Panamagate Papers or the more recent Newsgate. Both are casting an ominous shadow on PML-N’s remaining tenure. The opposition which had been desperately looking for an issue to weaken the PML-N’s hold over Punjab has now two sticks to beat the government with.
The government delayed brokering an agreement with the opposition for over six months hoping that with new issues cropping up Panamagate would be forgotten. To keep the issue alive Imran Khan announced a march on Islamabad combined with a prolonged sit-in. The measures taken by the government to foil the congregation of large number of people on Islamabad have created an explosive situation
The means the government and the PTI have adopted to fight it out are highly dangerous. Disregarding the Islamabad High Court directives to government not to put restrictions on the freedom of movement and the PTI to restrict its protest to a specified place, both have contributed to what could turn out to be a lockdown of Islamabad. The hours long confrontation between a procession led by KP Chief Minster and the Punjab Police which tried to stop it from entering the province at Swabi exchange did not strengthen the federation. Setting ablaze a number of vehicles presumably by PTI activists was also highly reprehensible.
The action against Pervaiz Rashid has satisfied neither the army nor the opposition. Both want real culprits to be identified and duly punished. The army is reportedly keen to try the masterminds under the Army Act. This would raise questions about the legality of trying civilians under the Act. In case the reporter or the editor of the newspaper which published the story were also proceeded against this would be widely seen as an act of targeting the independence of the media. The Government and the PTI have to realise that the way they have chosen to fight has the potential to bring down the system.
