23rd March 1973, I participated in a joint opposition’s jalsa organised in Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi. It was meant to be an event wherein parties opposed to Bhutto’s rule had gathered to express their positions. That was not how the Bhutto regime viewed it. They decided to teach their opponents a lesson. The grounds were full of an enthusiastic crowd. Suddenly, gunfire erupted from all sides of the Bagh. People ran for cover and chaos set in. Earlier, leaders had assembled at the residence of Chaudhry Zahur Ellahi. Nawabzada Nasrullah and a few others accompanied me in my car and we were to pick up Pir Pagara en route from the InterContinental hotel. Those days, there were no cell phones. Just as we were leaving the hotel, a motorcycle rider blocked our way. I recognised him as a political activist I had met and stopped. With a dazed look on his face, he blurted that bloodshed had started in the jalsa. We should not go there. Nawabzada sb, in a loud voice that resonated in the car, instructed me to keep going. The scenes I witnessed on arrival at the venue sends shivers up my spine even after five decades. The parking area was a battleground full of injured participants with blood spilt around us. It was decided that come what may, we should proceed to the stage. Wali Khan, Zahur Ellahi, and Baluchi Sardars were already there. The ham-fisted suppression of participants of the long march clearly demonstrates the intentions of PM Sharif ably executed by Rana Sana. That 100-meters walk from the car to the stage is one of the most traumatic experiences in my life. Bullets were raining in from all sides. I was accompanying Pir sb who was moving at a snail’s pace. I urged him to speed up. His words still echo in my ears “Hafeez, I have a bad knee that will aggravate, causing great pain. If a bullet is meant for me, it will get me whether I walk fast or slow!” Scores lost their lives and hundreds were injured that night. Pathans from KP were the prime target. They were chased into the streets and brought down by gun-wielding goons. The dictatorial streak in Bhutto had overtaken his democratic façade. We would have seen a similar mayhem on May 25. It was a tough yet sagacious decision by IK to end the long march before lethal gunfire erupted. The atrocities under Bhutto in the seventies and brutalisation of opponents under Zia in the eighties have been adopted in 2022. The ham-fisted suppression of participants of the long march demonstrates the intentions of PM Sharif ably executed by Rana Sana. Suppressive tactics may subdue temporarily, but they sow seeds of extreme hatred that will fester till they explode. The message conveyed through cypher must have gone through layers of assessments in the State Department. It was their final position that led to the regime change. Looking at the history of such actions by the CIA paints a dark picture of the course of activities in Pakistan. Plans did not end with the removal from the power of Musadiq in Iran or Allende in Chile. They ended with the elimination of these leaders. The total blackout of the atrocities committed on May 25 by the western media proves the collusion between the perpetrators of the conspiracy and their executors in Pakistan. Imran Khan is clearly under threat. Cases under the black laws using section 124 are being cooked up against PTI leadership to imprison them. IK locating himself in KP is a safety valve for now. At this point, it is important for the PTI to consider how their resistance against the imported regime should proceed. Doing a long march focused on Islamabad gives the rulers the ability to concentrate their forces. Resistance in multiple cities will disburse their ability to suppress. It has to be a struggle that inflicts a thousand cuts on various parts of the body. The explosion of fuel, and electricity prices and resulting inflation in staple food prices will trigger this process. The condition of working classes and wage earners is back-breaking and resentment is soaring. The PTI needs to step in and give a direction to the floodgates of this pent up anger. Time is on their side. Each day under this unbearable load will weaken the PDM regime. The economy is a far bigger concern now overtaking political considerations. Going back two months where did Pakistan stand? Economic growth was at six per cent, exports were rising dramatically, remittances were at record levels, stocks were booming and the country’s economic take-off was on course. It did not suit the forces that seek to destabilise Pakistan and was disrupted through this untimely regime change. Where do we stand today? The economy has tanked, inflation is galloping at 20 per cent and export manufacturing is seriously hurting. The leader of the second-largest PDM party has gone missing. Bilawal is out of the country having fun and is on a resume-building exercise. PM Sharif is on a fruitless image-building spree using advertisements to resurrect his shattered image. The Government is without any direction hurtling towards a default. The Superior Judiciary is seeking to enforce a course correction. PDM regime is rushing to give itself an NRO 2. They are changing laws to get off the hook; away from the noose hanging over their heads. Prospects for the future of the country are extremely dark. Neutrality at this stage is not an option. Without an intervention, we are headed for a massive blowout. The option for stakeholders is to step in now; otherwise, it could be never. The writer is the director of CERF, a non-profit, charitable organisation in Canada.