Daily Times

The opposition has clearly made up its mind to go ahead with its planned protests with full force. And the government has also decided to pay them back in their own coin. In some ways that is strange and also something of a concern. That the prime minister has strongly rejected any criticism of his democratic credentials, even claimed that he was democracy itself since he won five constituencies, is understandable. But his orders to party members to stage public rallies to match, rather outperform, opposition rallies is surely very out of the ordinary. People tend to have very short memories in Pakistani politics. But the few that do hold on to the odd instructive story from the past will tell you how once, when Zulfiqar Bhutto was prime minister and he was told to take out rallies to match all the hue and cry raised by the opposition of the time, he expressed shock and said such things only bring anarchy to countries.

Protesting is, if anything, the right of the political opposition. Surely the prime minister remembers that when he was himself in the limelight because of his famous dharna, the PML-N hierarchy responded to all his criticism but hardly ever took out any rallies; even though Turkish President Erdogan advised then PM Nawaz Sharif in favour of a show of force of his own. It seems that the PTI government is going a step too far in its response to the opposition’s alliance. If indeed the 11 parties have got together to protect their own ill-gotten wealth and try to grab the seat of power one more time, as PTI really seems to believe, then why not just put proof of all such claims before the public and let them decide?

Why, in response to the opposition dragging state institutions into the mess, must the government also do the same thing and also take the same names where they should not be taken? If, as the PM said, nobody would come out to support corrupt leaders of the past, why is the ruling party then bent upon giving them so much attention and time? And whose idea was it to suddenly file sedition cases against opposition leaders? Anybody who still thinks it was solely the work of a private party must just take a look at the number of times the police registers cases so quickly and then decide again. Clearly the government needs to revisit its plan of action to counter the opposition alliance. *