- Way forward
Imran Khan has done the right thing, considering the sudden controversy as the result became apparent, by offering all help to any investigation anybody might want into the election. He has also offered himself first for accountability. Perhaps that helped calm nerves at the PML-N camp, which opted to form the opposition after earlier flirting with the idea of boycotting the result. Hopefully this good sense will spread to other parties as well. PPP will announce its future course of action later today, and considering how Sindh is in the bag again, it too is unlikely to consider upsetting the apple cart at this point.
It is important to realise the necessity of a smooth transfer of power at this point. True, almost everybody except for PTI has had reservations, some very serious, with the manner of the last lap of campaigning and the election itself. Yet much rather than blocking roads and rejecting election results, anybody with genuine issues and questions must approach relevant institutions to have their cases heard. Problems with the election or the campaign should be taken to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) while the more serious issues, and allegations, are better placed before the honourable courts.
A confrontation, on the other hand, risks unraveling not just this particular election but the democratic process itself, and endangering the smooth transfer that everybody celebrates as proof of strengthening of democratic institutions. And, at a time when terrorism is on the rise once again, such a vacuum can also deteriorate an already precarious security situation. Imran, ironically, also presents the best example of what not to do in case of differences and disagreements in a democratic dispensation. Nobody appreciated his dharnas and threats of civil disobedience, etc, nor agreed with his tactics. By following the proper legal and democratic route, opposition parties must now ensure that they help strengthen, not weaken, Pakistan.
