Daily Times

There’s no denying the unprecedented pouring of the public to support the much-talked-about long march on the citadel being led by former prime minister Imran Khan. Pakistanis are pleasantly surprised at the sight of a leader who does not believe in backing out no matter who may appear on the other side of his razor-sharp tongue.

Still, by entertaining ill-worded questions and letting his passion get in the way of political acumen, Mr Khan is walking on very thin ice at the moment. While his adversaries may have retreated in the face of a massive response to the call of revolution as the crowd slowly inches towards Islamabad–creating more chaos with every passing day–they haven’t given up the hunt for any loopholes to play to their own advantage altogether. Such is the nature of this brutal, bloodied quest for power that enables all to fixate their eyes on even a shadow of a misstep.

Quite expectedly, a heated press conference by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah blasted a casually-made remark on the whiff of martial law. No individual should be allowed to indulge in any talk about the suspension of democracy, especially one taking great pride in the mandate of a mammoth voter base. What Climate Change Sherry Rehman berated as a “fascists mentality” and a “my-way-or-the-highwa” approach as berated by JUI(F)’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman would only serve to weaken the narrative of the PTI, which largely seeks to convey the wishes of millions in a manner that is hard for Islamabad to brush under the rug. Our precious democracy is always ready to take a flight for safer lands and therefore, any such discourse, especially when the armed institutions have categorically denied any political aspirations, can only lead to unyielding chaos.

May it be back-breaking inflation or our woes with the power sector, an overall unwillingness of the ruling elite to pay heed to the plight of the people or the pressures attached to the sight of doom and gloom, near and far, the protestors have no shortage of battle lines.

Has Mr Khan forgotten that the last man to try burning bridges and splashing muddied waters in all directions lost his drive for a “revolution” when his family members made merry on their way to the hot seat? As of now, no threat or retaliation has managed to contain the dragon but shouldn’t he too look before he breathes fire? *