It is not every day that a colourful bonanza of armed-to-the-teeth policemen gets stopped in its tracks by just as determined diehard supporters, and the mise en scene is littered with tear gas canisters. Such disruptive chaos where just one misstep and the entire city would go up in flames might still make sense if the sovereignty of a country were at stake. But, hold on. We are not in the midst of a heated civil war (while the ferociousness of the law enforcement authorities to abide by “my way or the high way” mantra may appear otherwise) and the intense standoff took shape between the state and someone who used to sit on its driving seat.
Thanks to Lahore High Court, the law enforcement agencies camped at Zaman Park finally decided to wrap up the operation only for the tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons and batons to return after a brief hiatus because of no apparent judicial relief given to Chairman Imran Khan. Given the earnestness of the protestors to stand by their supreme leader and not let anyone lay hands on him, the impasse would most probably persist.
While many an eyebrow has been raised at the absence of any legal or moral ground to justify the repeated attempts to evade arrest, Mr Khan and his followers stand firm in their decision to not let anyone’s “mala fide” interest make use of this golden opportunity. That he will be targetted in custody tops the reservations list, especially in the wake of the planned (and now tossed aside) assassination of prominent journalist Arshad Sharif. What the government deplores as hiding behind human shields is to them, the only viable option to ensure their lifeline stays alive.
That the state could have considered other options before a gross display of excessive high-handedness does not need to be sighed out aloud. However, we are living in times when nuance and subtlety have been replaced by over-exaggerated, brazen expressions of power and therefore, the government can only be advised to take stock of its options once again. Jumping to the most violent option reveals a little too much about their own selves than they would like the masses to know. Sandwiched between their political loyalties and the inability to protect themselves, ordinary, defenceless civilians are–as always–the only ones reeling under the hostility bus. *