The announcement made by the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chairman Tahir-ul-Qadri that his party is ready to join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the latter’s plan to lock down Islamabad on November 2 can only be construed as bad politics. The Canadian cleric is once again ready to play games with national affairs at the cost of the lives of his followers on the pretext of taking revenge of the Model Town tragedy. A total of 14 PAT workers were killed and many injured during clashes with police on June 17, 2014. After the brutal killings, the PAT chief gave the protests a political tinge by converting his party’s anger into a long march to Islamabad. The PAT and its mother organisation Minhaj-ul-Quran International run a network of thousands of educational institutions across the country and a charity organisation that has a global network. The reach and the good work of the organisation is commendable, no doubt about that. And as the network provides bread and butter to thousands of Pakistanis, they spring into action at the call of their leader. Looking at the situation in the country in the wake of Tuesday’s horrific attack in Quetta in which 61 people lost their lives, this is not the most opportune time for protests, and politicians should not put the country into further turmoil as terrorism keeps affecting the foundations of the state. Notwithstanding the constitutional right of both PTI and PAT to hold a peaceful protest, there will always be questions raised on why the PAT chief only visits Pakistan to hold a protest, spew venom against the government and incite his followers to take ‘action’. A learned religious scholar like Dr Qadri can play a very positive role to raise awareness in people on myriad issues of importance, but it is a pity that he has assumed the role of a self-avowed vigilante who talks of blood and revenge faster than a crowd nods to his every word. The PTI chief has threatened the government of locking down Islamabad with a massive protest march if his demand regarding the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the wake of the Panama scam is not accepted. The threat of shutting down Islamabad is not free from complications for the government. It is the responsibility of the federal government that it should not give feign indifference to this threat. The PML-N would be unwise to continue with its politics of showing its usual apathy to protests by opponents. Efforts must be made to address all the genuine concerns of the opposition parties. The top leadership of the PML-N should come forward and engage the opposition in talks for peaceful resolution of all issues causing conflict in the state and society. The government has already faced the implementation of Imran Khan’s last threat during his 126-day sit-in in Islamabad, and if it deems Khan’s fresh protest call as mere bombast, there may be nothing but chaos in Islamabad in the coming days. On his part, the PTI chief needs to demonstrate some patience and adopt a peaceful way of protest instead of endangering the country’s already fragile security and economy. Any protest that may turn violent — keeping large, impassioned crowds peaceful can be a tad tricky at times — is not in the interests of the country. Nobody should try to derail the system because the masses become the ultimate suffers of the misadventures of politicians. All political parties should focus on tackling the challenges faced by the country and its people in a rational manner. *