Daily Times

The mammoth crowd showed one thing clearly: how frustrated the common man is with the governance (or lack thereof) by the current political dispensation. The crowds gathered at the stadium way before the opposition leaders made an appearance, and many started leaving even when after hours of wait leaders did not put an appearance. Hamid Mir is right when he says these people were not politically motivated to be present but were frustrated by their day-to-day problems into coming, disillusioned by the PTI government.

For PTI this should be a point of deep concern. The people gathered are tired of inflation (tomatoes Rs 300 a kilo), jobs are few to come by, production is low, this means lesser jobs and higher product prices- sky rocketing utility bills and so on. The government does not have anything to fear from a discredited opposition. They have everything to fear from the masses.

The ruling alliance in a knee jerk reaction decided to call National Assembly session creating such uproar from the opposition benches that the Prime Minister had to leave without delivering his speech. A childish strategy.

Prime Minister Khan was focused on chasing political opponents, raising slogans of “ending corruption.” But that was not his job. That is the job of the law enforcement agencies. His job & that of his team was to formulate policies and deliver services. “There is a need to include good governance elements in the daily practices of the national administrations for a long period of time in order to build a modern state that combines the goals of economic growth, well-being of the citizens and environmental concerns in a manner that would preserve the existing resources for the future generations and allow the sustainable use of the latter by the current generation.” (Extract: The Reform of International Governance)

PTI is in power with a number game & needs to behave sensibly, pulling their act together. The last seem unlikely. They lack policies to deliver

TikTok was not our problem Mr Prime Minister, two square meals for the common man is. Creating a business friendly environment is needed to get the wheels of economy churning. Diverting attention to trivialities is not the answer.

Institutions are built by people. By a competent team. Hold on! In near or so two decades that Khan has been in politics- he has not built a team. Once in power, there was no homework, no team. The same old- adorn the power corridors. How can they, who were part of the problem be part of the solution? Is removal of one person or a few an answer to rooting out corruption? What about institutional corruption? The wheat & sugar crisis stick out like a sore thumb. Who was punished?

It seems highly unlikely that the government will deliver in next three years. It lacks the team that has the understanding to address issues and provide easement to the people. The question is, if things continue the way they are continuing, what will happen economically with Pakistan in the next three years?

Anyone, absolutely anyone can (and have) capitalized & cashed upon the problem of soaring inflation. This, the PDM did. And the masses coming (excluding the party supporters) were those completely disenchanted by the government. Those who cannot manage two square meals a day for their families. Those who cannot pay bills. Those who cannot afford the basics. The government seems to be out of touch with the ground reality. It is sad that this happens with every political dispensation coming to power. They start living a cocoon oblivious of the issue faced by the people voting them in power. Treated like useless termites, they are crushed like one in the vortex of inflation.

PTI even if builds up a narrative to counter the Gujranwala Jalsa, will not succeed in having it go down well with the masses. It is no substitute for delivering on promises & good governance.

PML N would have done fine had it zeroed in to this issue alone and questioned Khan’s government but the party supremo did something unfathomable. He blamed the Army for toppling his government to wheat & sugar crisis and all ills technically the domain of the civil government. Was he so hopeless that this route was the only option? Trying to incite masses against their Army is not sensible-particularly in the Punjab. Nearly every family has one or more family member in Army & have a bonding with the institution. This approach will also be viewed as personal vendetta and score settling. It will definitely not be viewed as feeling of genuine pain for the masses.

On the other hand, some kind of leadership has come forward to speak up about issues of the common man and is bound to gain momentum with coming winter, as gas shortage coupled with increased electricity rates and gas hit the masses. PTI will have no narrative to offer. No excuse whatsoever. Failure cannot be more blatant & crueler! They can only pray for PDM disappearing in the thin air. Whether or not this happens depends on reaction from the Army as a result of speech by Nawaz Sharif.

With Nawaz Sharif not in Pakistan, knee jerk reactions are best avoided. They reveal jitteriness & vulnerability. From any quarter. PTI is in power with a number game & needs to behave sensibly, pulling their act together. The last seem unlikely. They lack policies to deliver. Putting untrained Tiger Force Team of Volunteers to check food prices for pulses, wheat flour, ghee & sugar in their given localities. Can CTRF work, overriding local administration legally? Not so. Ground for another confrontation laid. A reflection on the lack of homework. A hallmark of this government.

End Note: ‘In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.’ (Confucius)

The writer is a lawyer, academic and political analyst. She has authored a book titled ‘A Comparative Analysis of Media & Media Laws in Pakistan.’ She can be contacted at: yasmeenali62@gmail.com and tweets at @yasmeen_9