Daily Times

First gathering in Pashin immediately after Eid indicates the future plans of the opposition. Five parties’ alliance led by PTI seems in a mood to launch a massive protest campaign across the country.

Apparently, the protest movement, led predominantly by the PTI, is likely to revolve around the traditional rigging mantra. Efficacy of country wide protest campaigns remains questionable in the backdrop of past bitter examples.

Ironically, opposition is gearing up for the street power shows at a time when the country desperately needs internal stability. Past two years, marred with political turbulence, had pushed the country in the pits of chaos.

Consequent sharp economic dip and alarming inflation wave is not yet over as the cost of living continues to rise without any break. This factor alone has adversely affected the middle and lower middle classes.

Efficacy of country wide protest campaigns remains questionable in the backdrop of past bitter examples.

Strategy of bringing political matters on roads and streets could not deliver any good to the nation. Exit of PTI from national assembly, after losing in vote of no confidence, proved a political blunder as admitted recently by many of its stalwarts.

Hyperbole narratives, especially economic default predictions, gave birth to deeper uncertainty which eventually hindered much needed foreign direct investments. Protest marches on the roads instead of a constructive opposition role on the floor of parliament should have been introspective in PTI.

Instead of that, the bruised party is again on the same track with no political end in sight. Settling the political scores out of parliament has never proved a beneficial option for the country. Interestingly, PTI itself has tasted the bitter fruit of baseless agitation and hateful social media trolling.

Though, protest is a democratic right guaranteed by the constitution but its abusive manifestation is always liable to legal scrutiny. Unprecedented exploitation of protest rights during the past two years played a key role in destabilizing Pakistan in many fields.

This remains an unresolved mystery as to why a popular party avoided protesting and pleading its case on the floor of parliament. This was no less than demeaning the elected parliament and, in a way, disrespecting the voters who entrusted the party for a constructive parliamentary role.

Overplaying the stolen mandate rhetoric on streets is not at all enough to prove the legal validity of claim. It is mandatory for the complainant party to approach the appropriate legal forums to seek justice. On this account, the track record of our political stakeholders in general and PTI in particular is not satisfactory.

Despite populist narrative cannonade, many election rigging allegations in the past proved hollow once the complainant failed in providing concrete proofs. It is also a bitter reality that the entire democratic cycle, especially the functionality of the parliamentary system remained dysfunctional due to ill intended agitational street power shows. Unwavering obsession of political parties with short sighted protest maneuvers is a reflection of weak statesmanship and absolute lack of maturity.

Current economic deterioration cannot be attributed to any single party rather it is the outcome of persistent collective blunders. International watchdogs are frequently sensitizing Pakistan about the widening fault lines in policy domains and emphasizing upon holistic reforms.

Prolonged entanglement with foreign debts, flawed taxation system, inflating import-export gap, limping governance and uncontrollable corruption in developmental projects merit swift correctional measures.

Promises fielded during election campaigns by political parties usually focus on collective welfare primarily to charm the voters. Thereafter, all such promises evaporate with the heat of agitational politics in which the losers concentrate all energies to dislodge the ruling party.

Pakistan desperately needs a break from this vicious cycle of protests, rhetoric-based exchange of allegations and non-productive so-called political alliances. Holistic policy reforms are the need of the hour.

Multiple challenges in economic, taxation, governance, climate, agriculture and security domains merit consensus-based course correction without wasting time. Government and the opposition should join hands on national issues of critical nature to take the country out of the poly-crisis quagmire.

PTI, being a significant stakeholder, should introspect its agitational strategy and re-direct political energies to the parliament. Social media rhetoric must not be relied upon for short term gains.

Recent exposure of absconder youtuber in UK court is an eye-opening episode. All the blind followers and sympathizers who had been towing the twisted rigging narrative of the court-martialed youtuber stand equally exposed today. Nation expects better application of collective wisdom from the government and the opposition. Five parties’ alliance should review its agitational strategy and focus more on performing in the arena of parliament.

The writer is a graduate of QAU, PhD scholar and a freelance writer and can be reached at fa7263125@gmail.com