The failure of the PTI’s negotiating team to turn up for the meeting scheduled for Tuesday made official what had become apparent by PTI founder Imran Khan’s earlier announcement that the talks were over. National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq tried to keep the failure from seeming too abject by announcing that the committee would remain, and saying that talks could still resume, but there was no disguising the fact that both sides had exhausted their options without achieving any of the desired results.
The Pakistan Tehrik Insaf in particular has run out of options, it seems, and has to reconcile itself to going back to the streets. That it is preparing to double down is shown by the changes it has made to its organisational structure, in the appointment of Aaliya Hamza as Punjab Chief Organizer and MNA Junaid Akbar as KP President in place of CM Ali Amin Gandapur. Ms Hamz’s appointment has been overtly linked to the PTI’s Lahore rally on February 8, while Mr Akbar has also pledged to make that rally a success. It may also be a matter of convenience, for its previous protests and rallies had led to talks, but not to the achievement of the goal of getting Mr Khan and other PTI detenus released. To get what it wants in addition, judicial commissions for the 9 May 2022 and 26 November 2023, it may have felt the need for more demonstrations of street power. It is perhaps worth noting that while the PTI has not admitted that its civil disobedience movement is over, it does not like to talk about it. The PTI had found that it had painted itself into the proverbial corner after the failure of its November 26 protest to spring Imran. The talks effort, it seems, had not yielded any results, and it seems it has now to get back to the streets.
The government is also left with nothing to show for its efforts. It has been seeking political stability, which is short-hand for its legitimacy to be accepted. It has not got any of the agreement that it had hoped for when it entered the talks. It should realize that it retains the initiative, because the previous round of protests had not dislodged it. It has had some positive news on the economic front, and thus can afford more protests. Both sides should remember that the remaining tenure of the government will have to be spent, and that both sides must carry out activities till the next election, but it is the government which must ensure the preservation of the liberties that allow those activities.