In another twist in the political fight between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), there have been reports of ‘trouble’ between PTI workers and police in major cities. Law enforcement agencies have arrested scores of party workers to stop a sit-in planned by the PTI in the federal capital. Amid the rising political temperature, the PML-N-led government has started a crackdown on the leadership and workers of the PTI and its coalition parties in Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi. At least 120 members of the Insaf Students Federation (ISF) were arrested on Thursday evening in a crackdown by law enforcement personnel in Islamabad. The PTI has given a call for a massive protest in Islamabad on November 2, in a showdown aimed at forcing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to step down, and present himself for accountability in the wake of Panama Papers disclosures. Reportedly, PTI workers, including women, were attacked by the police at the youth convention organised by the party. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has been moved to stop the impending shutdown of Islamabad. In its order issued on Thursday, the IHC has restrained the Islamabad administration from placing containers for blocking road and has asked the same to ensure normal life in the federal capital. The court has also barred the PTI from locking down Islamabad and summoned the PTI chief to personally appear before the court on November 1. While the PTI chief has expressed his resolve to lead the march at any cost and given a call for nationwide protests, what happens at that hearing remains to be seen. Holding a peaceful protest is the constitutional right of every citizen, and the government should not deprive political workers and leaders from exercising this right. From the very start, the government miserably failed to control the situation. It should have applied some political wisdom for averting the present chaos, but instead the PML-N government gave a cold shoulder to PTI’s threats, in fact, deriding it as nothing more than an inconsequential annoyance. It was government’s obligation to not have allowed the situation to reach such a boiling point. In view of its own past, the PML-N itself is notorious for defying court orders and resorting to violent protests. It was the PML-N that was accused of attacking the Supreme Court building when it issued a decree against the party chief. Moreover, the PML-N founder Mian Nawaz Sharif himself had used the tactics of holding street protests for the acceptance of his demands. It was Mian Nawaz Sharif who had defied house arrest on March 15, 2009 to lead a long march against the then Pakistan People’s Party government. In the present situation, the government is providing more strength to the PTI with the use of coercive measures. On one hand, they say that Imran Khan has no importance, and on the other, panic is being created through the use of force to stop Khan from leading the protest march. Apparently, the poor policies of the government have resulted in the present deadlock. Government itself is making Imran Khan a bigger hero in the eyes of the general public by putting undue restrictions on him and attacking his party workers. Government should have reached an agreement with the PTI and other opposition parties through negotiation instead of provoking them to incite their workers to violence. In fact, the government is giving undue importance to Khan’s protest movement. It is also expected of Khan that he demonstrates political maturity and that his supporters do not indulge in violence or cause damage to the public property. Protests and agitation only dampen the economy and lives of common citizens are affected by these rallies. Both sides should have consideration for the people who vote them into power, and both should keep the option open: of resolution of issues through mediation and negotiation. In the context of tension within Pakistan in the wake of the latest Quetta terror attack and on its eastern and western borders, it would be unwise of the government of Pakistan to open a domestic front with rival political parties, which would result in nothing but exacerbation of turmoil in Pakistan. In the larger interest of the nation, both Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan should stop indulging in churlish ego games, and a vulgar show of petty politics, and start to exhibit statesmanship that Pakistan is in dire need of at the moment. And the initiation of that process is very simple: start talking. Do it for Pakistan. *