Daily Times

The attack on the information secretary of PTI Raoof Hasan in Islamabad on Tuesday deserves to be condemned in the harshest possible words. Who were the culprits and what was their motivation and reason to carry out the assault will be known when they are arrested by the police. Reportedly FIR of the incident has been registered and the police are investigating in this regard. The government taking a serious view of it has rightly vowed not to spare the culprits. Hopefully, the perpetrators of this dastardly act will soon be apprehended and made to face the law.

The attack on Raoof has been condemned by almost all the political parties. It has invoked serious reaction from the PTI leaders who have demanded the constitution of a judicial commission to probe the issue which I think is an unwarranted demand. The law enforcement agencies and police are competent enough to handle this matter and the PTI leadership must have faith in them. The dilemma is that it has become a habit of PTI leaders to demand the formation of a judicial commission on even minor issues and foment political instability in the country.

Raoof Hassan is a man who does not have control over his tongue and relishes saying nasty things about the leaders of the opposing parties. In his weekly columns, he has been using filthy and uncouth language against them and portraying them in dismal colours.

PTI should behave like a political party giving top priority to national interests rather than placing its narrow political agenda above the good of the state.

In conformity with the narrative of the party, he has been continuously hurling flak at the establishment, particularly targeting the COAS without any valid reason. A few years back when he was not even a member of PTI he wrote a very derogatory article about Maulana Fazlur Rehman and short of hurling naked abuses at him he said everything that should not have been said.

His conduct throughout has been commensurate with the party narrative premised on violence and impudence. His offensive posturing and use of bad language against leaders of other parties might have offended somebody and the incident could well have been the boomerang effect of his objectionable actions. It could also be a sequel to his relations with one of the trans-genders gone sour. Whatever led to this incident will be known very soon.

Nevertheless, Raoof does not seem to have learnt his lessons. Addressing a press conference along with other PTI leaders in the aftermath of the attack he talked in the same tone and tenor against the government and the COAS whom he blamed for having established a one-man dictatorship in the country.

It is unbecoming of a person of his calibre and stature to indulge in such undesirable pursuits without thinking about their repercussions.

I think PTI and its leaders need serious rethinking and abandoning the culture of violence and impudence. PTI should behave like a political party giving top priority to national interests rather than placing its narrow political agenda above the good of the state.

Unfortunately, PTI is a party which has not only polarized the society instead of orchestrating national unity but has also committed the crime of rebellion against the state by attacking military installations and monuments of the martyrs. That is not the way the political parties are supposed to act. When Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged – arguably the most popular leader after Qauid-i-Azam – nobody attacked the military installations. Similarly, nobody reacted in a violent manner when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated during the Musharraf regime. When Nawaz Sharif was bizarrely removed from power the country did not witness any political commotion.

The removal of Imran Khan from power was a sequel to a constitutional process. Imran Khan himself wrote his exit from power by indulging in politics of vendetta and refusing to build working relations with the opposition parties.

The heavens had not fallen with his removal from power. In politics, there is always a next time and he should have sat in the opposition to serve the interests of the people who voted for his party. But regrettably, he chose the path of confrontation and precipitating political polarization besides building the mindset that eventually led to the regrettable incidents of 9th May. The regrettable thing about it is that the party instead of accepting responsibility for the episode has shown remarkable audacity in trying to blame the establishment whom it accuses of a false-flag operation to trap PTI. This conduct is akin thief blaming the law enforcer.

Under the permeating circumstances, the party must accept the reality and come out of the denial mode as well as apologize to the nation for what it has done. That is the only way it can remain relevant to the future landscape of the country. It must also abandon its hostile posture towards the establishment and allow the government to function smoothly as required by the prevailing situation in the country.

The establishment and government have rightly vowed not to spare the perpetrators of 9th May, its facilitators and planners. Hopefully, all those involved in orchestrating the tragic incidents of 9th May will soon the brought to face the law. The party minus those who are involved in the 9th May attacks must realign itself with the ground realities and do politics in conformity with the democratic traditions and within the ambit of the law.

It is an undeniable reality that the country cannot afford political instability any more. The circumstances demand cooperation among all the political forces to evolve a strategy to pull the country out of the unprecedented economic and political crisis. That necessitates a dialogue between them forgetting the past bitterness. As soon as this reality sinks into the minds of the leaders of PTI the better it would be for the party and the country.

The writer is a former diplomat and freelance columnist.