Imran Khan – from exposure to confrontation

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The dilemma at the hands of the PTI

 

The PTI considers wresting Punjab out of PML-N’s hands as crucial for winning the next elections. The goal can be achieved only by reducing the influence of the PML-N on the electorate while projecting PTI as a more viable alternative. The Panama-gate provided Imran Khan an opportunity to expose the PML-N leadership on charges of corruption. The PTI consequently took the issue to media, Parliament, Election Commission and Supreme Court. Targeting the vulnerable points of the ruling party and taking it to task is a normal opposition practice in democracies and few would object to it. A number of opposition parties therefore joined hands with Imran Khan in taking the Panama-gate issue to public platforms. .

 

The march on Raiwind however implies taking the political struggle to a higher stage. From a legitimate exercise of unmasking the ruling party Imran Khan has decided to change over to direct confrontation with the government. The move was rejected by some in the opposition as an attempt to personalise political differences which characterized the 1990’s and prepared ground for Musharraf’s coup. The move has reminded others of what happened in August 2014 when a charged mob led by Imran Khan and Qadri camped outside the prime minister’s house in Islamabad with the intent to force him to resign. Instead of allowing the people to change the government through the ballot, Imran Khan wants government change through the force of the mob, a tactic popular with the fascists.

The government’s reaction to the proposed march is equally undemocratic. Abid Sher Ali promised to teach Khan a lesson if he dared to launch his march. A spokesman of the Punjab government threatened to break the legs of workers seen moving towards the Raiwind Estate on September 24. The PML-N which rules Punjab can stop any illegal activity through government machinery instead of creating conditions where PTI and PML-N activists indulge in a free-for-all.

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