By Sardar Khan Niazi
Sacrificing the interests of the country at the altar of petty political gains and that too at a time when we need national unity and cohesion to face internal and external challenges is a bad omen.
The PDM political parties are facing the most daunting test of their political career. Seemingly, they look confident but are in a fix despite ousting Imran Khan’s government via a no-confidence motion.
The tragedy of Imran Khan is that a hung parliament forced him to walk a tightrope. Surprisingly, he still enjoys mass popularity, which should be a cause of concern for some government leaders who damaged their own political credibility through underhand maneuvering.
The coming days for the PDM parties may prove difficult but one thing remains clear: they have not learned from the past and are stirring trouble at the expense of their own dignity.
At present, political animosity is at its top. Neither the government nor the PTI is trying to exhibit patience and engage each other to sort out the problems. With such a frame of mind, the country cannot go forward on the path of progress and development. Political stability is necessary to achieve the same.
Before coming to power the PDM parties used to say their only objective is to overthrow the Imran Khan government passing on the impression that this is the solitary way out of the economic teething troubles of the country. Despite believing that ousting PM Khan was the only solution to the country’s economic woes, they have not been able to provide relief to the people.
Undeniably, the problems of people have multiplied because of inflation, and the prices of petroleum products as well as electricity have gone beyond the reach of the common person. Ousting the PTI government did not prove a solution rather it further aggravated the situation.
Because of the Ukrainian issue, the prices of petroleum and other commodities witnessed a record surge. In fact, there should not be any politics about the economy, as today’s claims by the political leaders, may haunt them tomorrow.
If the PDM government has any plan as to how some provision of relief is possible for the common person in current circumstances, they must share it with the media. Surprisingly, in response to the PTI Long March, the government is behaving in an irresponsible manner.
Instead of adding fire to the fuel, the responsibility of the government at the center is to bring down the political temperature for the sake of the country. In the best national interest, we expect seasoned politicians to come forward and bring both PDM and PTI for immediate negotiations to end political uncertainty.
The government should allow the PTI Long March to complete its route and let people decide their fate in the next general elections. The burden of the government’s ineffectiveness is being borne by the common person in the form of price-hike in electricity, gas bills, and uncontrolled petrol and medicines prices.
Presently, the political temperature in the county has reached the boiling point as both the PDM and the PTI are not willing to find a middle ground to end the confrontation. Both the PTI and the PDM are accusing each other of massive corruption, mismanagement, and non-deliverance.
Currently, the politics of protests, marches, and accusations are on the rise and each side accuses the other of failure. The political situation is sliding toward instability due to non-tolerance, and rising political polarization.
The suffering people are expecting some umpire to make his way, so they live comfortably. It will be interesting to see how the next few weeks conclude considering the PTI’s call for early elections.