“I write two pages – that’s all I write. It takes me about an hour. I have learned that is all I am capable of and to push myself beyond that is foolhardy. It’s a very delicate thing, and I will not abuse it. So, I write two pages, and then I get up from the computer.”
Katrina Elizabeth DiCamillo
Instead of responding to long-standing queries, the January 1 meeting of the PDM leaders added some more to the list. Even the claim that discussions among the constituent parties were held in a cordial atmosphere was belied by the despondency writ large on their faces.
Among the decisions taken, which are at a tangent to their earlier proclamations, is the one that PDM parties will participate in the forthcoming by-elections for the assemblies while a decision about the Senate polls was put off for another time. There was a reiteration of their earlier demand that the Prime Minister resign by January 31, failing which a long march will be undertaken, the date of which will also be decided later.
People must be shown, adults as well as children in school, animations about what a virus is, how it attacks and spreads, and films about the absolute necessity of isolation and quarantine. Messages on phones, leaflets and other vague methods are as good as nothing, they will cut no ice. People need to understand exactly why it is dangerous these days to attend weddings and funerals, why it is important to boil their drinking water, and why it is crucial to get the vaccination when it arrives in Pakistan.
The assault on the military was venomous, which they blamed for being the reason for all that was wrong in the country, including the rigging of the last elections. They also threatened that the decision whether to take the proposed march to Islamabad or Rawalpindi (read GHQ) will be taken at the next meeting. They accused the military of turning Pakistan into a ‘deep state’, thus rendering the system hostage which was thwarting the prospect of establishing genuine democracy. It was also stated that, as of now, their war was not with Imran Khan who was a mere stooge, but the military– an ominous declaration by all means and intents.
The proposal of holding a national dialogue to find a way out of the present confrontational mould was rejected outright. A demonstration is also planned in front of the ECP office in Islamabad for January 19 while the date for staging a similar protest in front of the NAB office will be announced later. And, in spite of the tatters which are showing with gaping holes, there was much parroting of the continuing unity among the PDM constituent parties.
No decision was also taken on submission of resignations which was the core weapon the opposition wanted to use to upstage the government. In the end, inter alia, the constituent parties had to bow before the PPP narrative encompassing a combination of not tendering resignations from the assemblies (which they don’t recognise), confronting the government on all platforms, and refusal to give up the Sindh government. This reflects a major deviation from the original PDM plan where tendering resignations was the trump card (some called it the ‘atom bomb’) they were banking on to seek resignation from the government. This key component of the original strategy has now been replaced by taking the battle to the doors of the military by threatening them nakedly to back off. This is quite a fall!
The issue is that I have more questions today than I had before the convening of this moot. There was speculation about growing differences among the constituent parties of the PDM which has been all but proved right. Other than that, there was virtually no concrete decision adopted to propel the movement further.
Blaming the military is a tacit acknowledgement of their inability to forge unity among their ranks. Today, the conglomerate of 11 parties which had vowed to wage joint struggle for the restoration of democracy and civilian supremacy stands divided into two camps: the one led by the PPP, and supported by a majority within the PDM, believes that resigning from assemblies is not the right strategy to reach their goal while the other faction, comprising the PML(N) and JUI(F), wants the struggle to turn violent, thus setting the stage for forcing the government out. The former approach recognizes the paradigm of realpolitik while the latter signifies an act of extreme desperation. Suffering from division among their ranks, is there even a distant possibility of either option succeeding to see the back of the incumbent government?
The answer is a no. First and foremost, there is no substantive cause holding the PDM together. Establishing genuine democracy in the country is not the commitment that moves them in this confrontational approach. Civilian supremacy is also not an objective that would stir them to action as most of them are the product of military patronage. Working for the benefit of the country or the people is also no driver for this movement as these parties have been in power over the last four decades as part of one coalition or the other, even by themselves. It is a self-interest-driven bonhomie to save their corruption and escape the looming accountability.
In reality, they themselves are the reason why the country is today confronted with some monumental existential challenges. The manner in which Pakistan has been plundered, bloodied and badgered has no precedent anywhere in the world. It is the very same leadership which operated as thugs to skin the country of its resources solely for their personal aggrandisement, thus forcing the impoverished and marginalised communities to languish in deprivation and poverty. Their basic needs were never attended to. No meaningful investment was made in the sectors of education, health, social care, provision of job opportunities and uplifting the self-esteem of the downtrodden people. This was so because the ruling elite never required these facilities in the country. Their needs, and those of their kith and kin, were met in foreign lands, which is also where they have stashed their illicit wealth. So, their lust for more was augmented by their insensitivity to the horror that the poor multitudes are faced with as a matter of daily routine.
It is with the advent of Imran Khan as the Prime Minister that these thugs are confronted with any real prospect of elimination of their vile and wicked brand of politics. They know they can neither frighten Khan from fulfilling his agenda of service to the people, nor contaminate his resolve to remain steadfast in his mission. After inheriting a wreck of a country and striving tirelessly to stabilise it through his first two years in power, he is now concentrating on remodelling it to serve its needy people as a matter of their right.
It is the quotient of compassion instilled into every undertaking he initiates that makes Khan stand apart from these gangs of exploiters. Ehsaas is the flagship programme of the government for bringing relief to the poor and the needy. The panagahs (shelters) that he has set up to provide food and resting places for the poorest of the poor is just a precursor to what he intends to do for the country and its people. And it is here that the former ruling elite see a genuine threat to their chances of ever staging a comeback because, once the poor people have been lifted out of poverty and they develop their consciousness to use their right to vote freely, they would never cast it for those who are responsible for their deprivations.
With the parties of the PDM plunging from the frying pan into the fire, it is Khan alone who is ascendant in his commitment to the cause of Pakistan and all its institutions which are fighting a combination of inimical forces, internally and externally, with indescribable bravery, grit and resoluteness. Nothing can deter this confluence of spirit and resolve.
