From Lockdown to Thanksgiving

Why is everyone mum?

The SC is expected to take eons to give its decision, and in the meanwhile things would just be as normal as they always were. Corruption would continue unchecked

People were keenly waiting for 2 November with renewed hope that the dharna might just be a harbinger of change. Hopes were high and so were spirits. Even the most apolitical people were anxious for the situation to unfold. There were arrests, confrontation, tear gas, blockages, raids and the political adrenalin rush. Sheikh Rasheed as always did not fail to amuse us with his antics.

And just a day before D Day, PTI leader asks his people to go back home, as he is elated to accept the SC’s order for a judicial commission for the Panama saga. Imran’s whimsical disposition has not only disappointed many, it has left many more frustrated too. What seems unnerving is the question that why did he dish out all the rhetoric when ultimately he had to settle for a commission of SC whose validity and reliability, he has always been skeptical of!

It would have been a very smart move if PTI lawyers would have presented some strong evidence in support of their case. In the hearing in the court Hamid Khan, PTI’s lawyer, did not attach enough documents to corroborate their stance about the alleged involvement of the Sharif clan in money laundering and establishment of off-shore companies. The point of concern is that Imran Khan had repeatedly declared this dharna to be the last nail in the coffin, he had rallied his supporters on the pretext that this dharna would prove be the end of the corrupt leadership and his party would not back down without the PM’s resignation. The SC is expected to take eons to give its decision, and in the meanwhile things would just be as normal as they always were. Corruption would continue unchecked. Lawlessness, insecurity, wastage of money on rainbow coloured roads, false claims of high economic growth and unprecedented achievements shall prevail.

Lives were lost just like they were lost in the Model Town episode. Why is everyone mum? Who is responsible this time? Why is human life the cheapest commodity in this part of the world?

Political players have been changing but what does not seem to change is the lack of will of the leaders to steer the country towards the path of peace

It goes without saying that call for a withdrawal was a very erratic move on part of Imran Khan, who had not seemed to have taken his party members into confidence because they did not seem to share his elation. It surely implies that he is not a team player. There is despondency in the air because people wanted Nawaz Sharif to be jolted for his alleged corruption and his involvement in the information leaks which defamed the army. If it was the army that mediated to solve the issue it would have been different, because men in boots are quite swift and they do not delay like our courts do, Pervaiz Rashid’s dismissal is a recent example. But giving time to the PM to come up with a stronger case was not a sagacious move on PTI’s part. If SC gives judgment in favour of the government would there be another act?

PML-N played it wise. They very smartly got time to devise a better strategy to defer opposition for another 6-8 months, divert the media from the Almaida episode charge allegations against PTI for trying to impede CPEC.

Does it all not seem too predictable?

But then there is one more thing that is predictable and it is the plight of the common man in this country. In a country where political game changes very quickly, what does not seem to be changing is the helplessness of the masses who have been manipulated by the conniving rulers right from the very inception. Our people have been fed on rhetoric: rhetoric of religion, rhetoric of nationalism, rhetoric of empowerment, rhetoric of CPEC, etc. Political players have been changing but what does not seem to change is the lack of will of the leaders to steer the country towards the path of peace and prosperity. What does not seem to change is the lust of the ruling parties to sap the country of its resources. What does not seem to change is the gullibility of the masses to vote the same tried and tested people back into power.

In a country where health, education, etc seem to be the least important needs, what else can we expect but to have democracy which is for the leaders, of the leaders and by the leaders?

Rest in peace all the hopes.