Maturity of political actors spelt demagogue’s defeat
Tahirul Qadri’s so-called ‘million march’ has ended in a fiasco. Despite the fig leaf of a face saver, none of his major demands has found acceptance. The government has said no to the dismissal of the assemblies, resignation by the cabinet, disbanding of the Election Commission and a role for the army and judiciary in the formation of the caretaker setup and the EC. Qadri was made to eat a humble pie by accepting a vague date for the dissolution of the assemblies, already conceded by Khurshid Shah, and a concession that he could suggest two names for a caretaker prime minister with the PPP having the mandate to withdraw those during the mandatory consultation with the opposition. He had to retreat on the demand to give the EC 90 days to scrutinise the eligibility of the contestants and agree to a 30-day limit. A conceited Qadri who had challenged the legitimacy of the government calling cabinet members ‘former ministers’ must have had to swallow hard during and post-negotiations charade of showing camaraderie and respect for them. He had to enter into a deal with a prime minister he had only a day earlier wanted to be removed and sent to jail. While leaderless protestors continued to occupy Cairo’s Tahrir Square for 18 days and ended the sit-in only after the removal of Hosni Mubarak, Qadri was issuing fervent appeals to President Zadari to send a delegation over only after four days.
The debacle of Qadri’s so-called ‘four million march’ should discourage any potential adventurer from undertaking an exercise of the sort in future. This should meanwhile lead his idealistic followers to ponder over whether the achievements of the march were worth putting the lives of thousands of men, women and children at stake. What was the whole nation plunged into anxiety over its future for, and was it worth wasting four days of the nation, with businesses and stock market taking such a serious hit?
The government deserves credit for skilfully bringing the sit-in to an end without the slightest use of force. Dispersing a big crowd of highly charged activists which included a fairly large number of women and children through conventional coercive methods could have had unpredictable consequences. Credit is also due to Mian Nawaz Sharif, for he displayed statesmanship, rallying the entire opposition behind him in defence of the system. Nawaz’s nous, along with the coalition sticking together in the end despite two of its member wavering initially, took the wind out of the sails of those conspiring to upset the applecart. Imran Khan also deserves kudos for refusing to accept Qadri’s last ditch appeal to join the sit-in.
This maturity and calm by all political actors across the aisle bodes well for the democracy taking firm root. Yet there is a need on the part of all major parties to continue mutual cooperation in the days to come to strengthen the system. While Qadri’s PAT should be encouraged to take part in elections, mainstream parties stand to harm themselves if they were to close their eyes to Qadri’s murky politics.
