PTI chief Imran Khan has decided to initiate the last battle for “real freedom” within days. According to his plans, victory will be followed by the announcement for fresh elections leading to the end of the coalition government and the return of the PTI to power. This is the second time Mr Khan is beating the war drums. The PTI’s May 26 march on Islamabad was to be followed by a sit-in till demands for an immediate dissolution of the National Assembly and the announcement of an election date were accepted. Mr Khan had however failed to pull out the numbers that he had expected from either KP or Punjab. The march had come came to an abrupt end with IK deciding not to go ahead with the sit-in.
Imran Khan has apparently learnt from the past shortcomings. While in Peshawar on Tuesday the PTI chief took oaths from party lawmakers, office-bearers, and members to support the ‘real freedom’ march despite all odds. Ministers, MNAs, MPAs and prominent party leaders were assigned the task to bring a particular number of people to join the rally and the subsequent sit-in. Mr Khan hopes this time to have an “ocean of people” that will not leave Islamabad without getting a date for the elections.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has a plan to counter the march. It includes the deployment of the Army in the capital city’s Red Zone to stop the entry of protesters in the high-security area. As many as 30,000 personnel of Islamabad and Sindh Police, Rangers and FC would be deployed to ensure law and order in the capital city.
While the PTI and the government are fully concentrated on their tactical plans two ominous issues loom large on the horizon: the perilous state of the national economy and the dire situation in the vast flood-affected areas of the country. There is a need on both sides to avert the impending confrontation and resolve their disputes without harming the economy or diverting attention from the suffering of millions of people facing hunger and disease. The way out is talks between the government and PTI.
