Time for introspection?
No government worth its salt could afford to remain a passive spectator to the process of being locked down. It simply decided to draw a cordon sanitaire of its own around Islamabad
As was expected Imran Khan’s latest putsch to oust the Sharifs through sheer street power ended unceremoniously with a whimper. To put a gloss of victory over defeat the PTI observed “thanksgiving day”instead. However, the much-touted one million plus crowd was conspicuously missing from the federal capital.
Khan and his close advisors failed to realise that this time it was not going to be a re-run of the 2014 dharna that continued unabated for 126 days. Perhaps unwittingly by boasting to shut down Islamabad he had taken the bar to a much higher level.
No government worth its salt could afford to remain a passive spectator to the process of being locked down.It simply decided to draw a cordon sanitaire of its own around Islamabad, effectively cutting off the federal capital from the rest of the country.
The Supreme Court’s five-member bench headed by the chief justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali had already fixed the Panamagate petition against the prime minister and his family for 1 November. The apex court not going into the merits or demerits of maintainability of these petitions and the government also agreeing, paved the way for a face saving for Khan.
Once the prime minister’s scions submit their replies hopefully Monday, the court will have to deal with the thorny issue of determining the TORs (terms of reference) of the proposed one-man Commission comprising of a Supreme Court judge.
Unsurprisingly, the TORs submitted by Imran Khan and Sheikh Rashid Ahmed are front-loaded with accountability of the prime minister first. Sharif however continues to maintain that his name does not figure in the offshore companies named in the Panama leaks and the four Mayfair flats are not owned by him but by his children who are not dependant on him.
Hence in the end analysis it seems that the apex court will have to determine the TORs itself to bridge the gap between the opposing stances of the protagonists.
The PTI baying for the blood of the prime minister will settle for nothing less than his scalp. But after failing to mobilise street power to oust the government it has no option but to rely upon the better judgment of the highest court of the country. Previously the Party encouraged by some of its allies, had expressed no confidence in the courts, implicitly branding them as pro Sharif.
Why did the Khan fail to foresee the consequences of his flawed strategy? The Supreme Court fixing the date of hearing of Panamagate a day earlier than the threatened Islamabad lock down was a good opportunity for him to back down
Perhaps now is the time for Khan to mull over his flawed political strategy. But unfortunately introspection does not seem to be one of his strongest points.
The bottom line is that his various bids to oust his nemesis through sheer street power have failed. First it was dhandli (election rigging) in the 2013 general elections that was the raison de etre for the 2014 dharna and now it is alleged corruption of the Sharifs with Panamagate being the smoking gun.
What the PTI’s higher echelons should be debating amongst themselves is: why did they fail on both counts? To claim that our rulers are pristine honest will be economising with the truth. No elections have been entirely transparent in our checkered political history.
Nonetheless as I was witness as part of the 2013 caretaker set up, these general elections were fairer than most. If it were not so the incumbent Zardari government would have been the biggest beneficiary, not the Sharifs.
The PTI — emerging from nowhere as the third biggest party in the general elections — did quite well. But unfortunately Khan and his stalwarts were in too much of a hurry to be in power. The consolation prize of ruling KP was simply not enough for them.
So far as the corruption mantra is concernedit simply has not worked to mobilise support en masse. Perhaps corruption from the lowest to the highest level is so much ingrained in the system that it does not cut any ice with the common man.
So many times in the past, electedgovernments have been sent packing by the fabled man on the horseback in the name of corruption that it has simply desensitised the public at large. That is why when Khan invokes the name of the fabled third umpire; it is axiomatically assumed that he is doing the bidding of the establishment.
The so-called deep state nonetheless keeps all its cards close to its chest. And the method in its madness keeps the squabbling politicians under check.
The Khan and the Sharifs have both rendered the parliament-the repository of their power-irrelevant. Neither of them is interested in its proceedings.
The PTI parliamentarians during the 2104 dharna resigned from the parliament. Presently they are on a permanent boycott. The question that begs an answer here is that what is the fault of the poor constituents who elected them to represent their aspirations?
After having miserably failed to oust the Sharifs through street power and being forced to repose confidence in the higher judiciary the PTI leadership should seriously consider turning the page.
Undoubtedly Imran Khan is the biggest crowd puller in the country. But merely holding mammoth jalsas and rallies coupled with perceived or real pat on the back by those who matter in the Islamic Republic is simply not bringing dividends for him.
The PTI perhaps with some success has pushed the ruling PML-N on the ropes by damaging its brand. But will that be enough to win the next elections?
The Party derives its core support from the angry youth whose narrative keeping pace with that of its leader has become increasingly bitter and abusive. But dancing to the tunes of DJ Butt is simply no substituteforhard organisational and constituency work.
As was visible in the march towards Islamabad, at the first hint of violent state resistance the crowds simply did not turn up. Khan and the rest of the PTI leadership were comfortably ensconced in Bani Gala while the poor workers including women were battling rubber bullets, tear gas shelling and lathi charge. This has not sent the right message.
After failure to mobilise crowds in sheer desperation the chief minister of KP, Pervez Khattak, was summoned to march towards Islamabad with his jatthas(followers). However he was thwarted through unabated brute force of the Punjab police.
It was certainly not a good precedent. Thankfully better sense prevailed on both sides and Khattak literally turned back from the precipice.
Why did Khan fail to foresee the consequences of his flawed strategy? The Supreme Court fixing the date of hearing of Panamagate a day earlier than the threatened Islamabad lock down was a good opportunity for him to back down.
But as always his somewhat bloated ego got the better of him. Unfortunately bloated egos are not necessarily good politics.
Many a politician have felled owing to this character flaw. There is still time for the Khan to disembark his high horse and take off his white shining knight armour!