The soap opera that is Pakistani politics continues, but it seems that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) Chief has finally decided that he will take his party in protest to Raiwind on September 30. What he will do there is still anyone’s guess, but he seems confident that his arrival there will somehow magically lead to the creation of a ‘Naya Pakistan’. Amidst an unruly crowd that repeatedly broke out into small scuffles, the PTI Chief promised that his ‘peaceful’ protesters would be unforgiving if someone attempted to stop them.
The trajectory of Pakistani politics is heading the wrong way if political party supporters are arming themselves with bats and batons to take on one another.
PTI now seems to understand that its numbers alone will not be able to make any real headway sitting in the corner of the provincial capital. Since opposition parties have already backed off from supporting the March, Imran Khan then appealed to farmers, doctors and lawyers, all those that were tired of PML-N’s rule. But the question is, will this work?
Shiekh Rashid’s Awami Muslim League is the only party that has thrown its weight behind Imran Khan, so there is no hope in terms of other parties joining in. Imran Khan is pinning his hopes on the general public on this occasion, but given that the 2013 elections were not stolen from PTI, and it does not enjoy as much popular support as it believes; will this march be anything more than a rally meant to increase space for itself in the 2018 elections?
Enough play-acting, let’s put the rhetoric consistently bandied about by PTI aside and attempt to dissect the (scant) arguments within. According to PTI, the elections were rigged in 2013 (they still maintain this) but have no proof for this. All of Pakistan’s corrupt activities somehow lead to Nawaz Sharif and any future election will also be rigged because the ill-gotten money will be used to cement the Prime Minister’s place in power. Khan also, interestingly, labelled anyone calling him power-hungry, as corrupt, characterless and looking to keep the status quo in place.
The PTI’s stance, simplified above, puts both Imran Khan and PTI in a very comfortable position. He has given himself the moral high-ground by calling out corruption, taking on the Prime Minister and the status quo all in one swift move. All those that do not stand with him are automatically in the wrong. But he does not need to do anything in the way of providing proofs, or throw anything but allegations at the government. It’s not even about investigation anymore, Imran Khan has given up on that avenue; the protest is now just concerned with making Nawaz Sharif step down. If both the ends and the means keep changing, does PTI really have an actual leg to stand on?