- PTI must shed trench mentality
Over the last nine months of its tenure the PTI has consistently neglected Parliament, which is the venue where political parties resolve their difference in a democratic society. The Prime Minister has only rarely attended the National Assembly and invariably left without taking part in the ongoing debates, answering questions or making policy statements. Instead he assigned the task of browbeating the opposition to a party MNA with no understanding of parliamentary culture who acted as a bull in the china shop. No wonder there are no working relations between the ruling party and the opposition.
PM Imran Khan is displaying exceptional intolerance for the opposition. On Wednesday the government did not allow a handful of PPP supporters to come out on the streets of Islamabad to show solidarity with party chairman Bilawal Bhutto as he drove to the NAB office. Despite there being no emergency measures in place or Section 144 imposed, police resorted to baton charge and use of water cannon to disperse the workers, arresting some, including two MNAs. This was done by a party which in 2014 had for months occupied the most sensitive zone of Islamabad, creating hurdles in the working of the federal government while making the life of the residents miserable. What was good for the goose should have been good for the gander also
The PTI leadership’s trench mentality is driving the entire opposition to desperation. On Tuesday PML(N) leaders Maryam Nawaz and Hamza Shahbaz vowed to jointly fight the ruling party, dispelling rumours about differences over leadership. There is talk about convening a multi-party conference to draw up a charter of demands and jointly confront the government both inside and outside Parliament after Eid.
Time for Mr Khan to make a U-turn in the national interest by giving due importance to Parliament, zipping shut the PTI’s big mouths and opening talks with the opposition. The government already faces enough problems. Anyone hoping that sending the opposition leadership to jail would help, is living in a fool’s paradise of his own. The frustration emanating from economic stagflation, characterised by an unending rise in prices and higher rate of unemployment, could take a dangerous turn in the absence of responsible leadership.
