Political uncertainty is on the rise, speculations are the center of talks regarding the ongoing political turmoil that what would be the outcome of the politics of sit-ins and processions. Chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf has hold rallies in major cities of Punjab and also in Larkana Sindh and asked the people to come out from their homes and reach to the capital on November 30, because it is the time like now or never to get rid of from the status quo political parties.
On the other side, government does not seem in the mood to give a free field to the PTI workers to enter into Islamabad and held their power show. Cities are being brought to a standstill because of the threat of demonstrations; containers have been placed on entry and exit points. People are talking either the government would show some flexibility over the harsh demands of protesters or it would end up tightening the screws of protesters.
Situation has become very tense, and people are glued to their TV screens to know the latest. At a point when protesters are asking for too much including the resignation of an elected Prime Minister, government can not be spared from putting its part in flaming the issues. Mishandling the reservations of other political parties by the incumbent government provided the reasons to the small waves of protests to become very high tides. Initially, demand of PTI for the recounting and verification of thumb impression of four constituencies was not met, incident of killing a dozen workers of PAT in Lahore added fuel to the fires being lighted by the opposition parties. PAT has to come on the streets for months to lodge an FIR of the incident. The real culprits behind the carnage have not been brought to justice until now.
Sit-in of PTI has crossed the record period of time of the sit-in as no other example found in the history of the country. Government at first showed the flexibility and let the protesters enter into the capital but latter used force when the protesters tried to enter into the Red Zone and used the gas shells and rubber bullets on the protesters, resulted in the death of some and left many with injuries. At the same time government hold a joint session of the parliament and almost all the political parties were standing beside the government on the crucial period of time and government was successful to isolate PTI politically. Eventually Pakistan Awami Tehreek Chief, Tahir-ul Qadri called to end the sit-in, which boosted the confidence of the government. Now they have found the lost confidence to deal with the protesters but their tones have changed drastically in the span of few weeks time and Federal Information Minister Parvaiz Rasheed comes up with new allegations of corruption and misusing the property of the Khyber Pakhtunkhawa government by the Chief of Imran Khan. Today he unveiled the details about income tax paid by PTI Chairman Imran Khan, saying Khan has paid far less an amount than the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. On the other side, allegation by Imran Khan continuing and on Friday by holding a press conference he said that last year’s general elections were rigged by printing millions of extra ballot papers. He said that at least 5.5 million extra ballot papers were printed to perpetrate the vote fraud. This is how Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) got away with 15 million votes in 2013 as against 6.8 million in 2008. He also alleged that police had been the ruler’s election rigging force. He said those who had these 5.5 million ballot papers printed with a fraudulent intent indeed dealt a blow to the democracy in country. He said that PTI waited for a full year for the justice to prevail, but to no avail but he said his struggle would continue as he has the mandate of the people and has hold successful rallies in all major cities of the country.
Federal Interior Minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also has confirmed on Friday that PTI has finally been allowed to hold its November 30 rally at Islamabad’s Jinnah Avenue. He said the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) has given permission to PTI for its rally and a formal No Objection Certificate (NOC) in this regard would be issued later.
It is a good decision of the government as it must not take away the right of freedom of speech and expression, right of peaceful demonstration. Government should also show some flexibility and should confer the green signal to the participants of the rally on Sunday. Now leaders of PTI must also stand by their words and should not let the people take law and order situation into their hands because if a chaotic situation would erupt it would be a disaster for the democracy and ultimately for the stability of the country.
