PTI should be wary
Tomorrow Nawaz Sharif is most likely going to face a sentence similar to what was handed to him in the Avenfield reference by the accountability court. Currently out on bail courtesy the IHC Sharif and his daughter spent sixty days behind bars at Adiala jail. As for the younger Sharif he too has been in NAB custody for two months and the accountability watchdog has finally filed supplementary references against the PML-N chief and opposition leader in NA. Senior party member Saad Rafique is also facing similar music. Zardari has somehow managed to remain out of jail but the pace at which the FIA is moving in the fake accounts case against him it seems it is only a matter of time before that happens.
The PTI does not make any bones about how they want to see the leadership of both the PML-N and PPP behind bars as soon as possible. At the same time they talk about across the board accountability yet none of the members of their party under investigation are being treated the same way as the opposition. So far the leadership of both opposition parties had restricted themselves to expressing their grievances in the NA or party rallies. But now the PML-N is looking towards agitation as a means to pressurize the PTI. This isn’t unfamiliar territory for the ruling party considering how it was their go-to method for almost anything they wanted to get done in the five years of the previous government. Back then the Chinese president was forced to delay his trip to Pakistan. Given the economic and foreign policy conundrums this government is facing does it really afford a D-Chowk style sit-in? Accountability is necessary and should be done for the right reasons to achieve the appropriate results but as in the past the watchdog agencies are being used for political purposes. Perhaps the PTI feels that the opposition cannot mobilize their people to come out on the streets. Nevertheless it would be prudent of the ruling party to address the legitimate concerns of the opposition lest an alliance is formed to actually make life more difficult for the PM and his party.