Not the first time, probably not the last
Not known for showing restraint when it comes to commenting on other political parties, state institutions and pretty much anyone who criticises him, Imran Khan chose to call those greeting Nawaz Sharif as he returned to face jail time ‘donkeys’ (fools). Given the choice words that Khan and his party reserve for the Sharifs this was not exactly the worst thing that the PTI chairman has said. It has still however irked the PML-N as one senator who took strong exception to the remarks questioned whether all the senators leaving for Lahore on Friday were fools. Such sparring has become a staple of both the PML-N and PTI and has escalated manifold during the process of Nawaz Sharif’s fall from grace and neither party has shown a willingness to tone it down.
In defending their leader Nawaz Sharif the PML-N too has taken certain liberties both inside and outside the parliament with fist fights and abusive language. Imran Khan too has chosen a more aggressive tone that has become a hallmark of the PTI leader’s speeches at rallies. Most recently he cursed the parliament that he rarely attended during the entirety of this outgoing government’s tenure. Another foot-in-mouth moment was him describing foreign players coming to play the final of last year’s PSL – rarely do foreign teams come to Pakistan to play cricket due to security concerns – in Lahore as decrepit. This is now the new norm and it is only going to get worse from here as elections approach. The heavy handedness of certain institutions towards the PML-N has also created the perception within the PTI that perhaps for now they are relatively untouchable so why not kick the PML-N when it is down. This belief trickles down to the party’s followers as well and when the leader of that party is where such rhetoric emanates from it comes as no surprise when words sometimes turn into violence. Both sides need to seriously reassess where they draw limits in political discourse and that moderation has to first come from the very top.
