Pakistan - Leaving Imran behind

The country has been held hostage by two parties — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) — for weeks now but the deadlock finally seems to be breaking and progress is visible as one of the protesting parties will be leaving the sit-in site. PAT leader Dr Tahirul Qadri on the 51st day of the sit-in allowed his supporters to go back to their homes to celebrate Eidul Azha, who were in any case debilitated by camping for so long outside parliament without making any headway. The condition however, was put on them to go back and motivate the public in their respective cities to attend the rallies that PAT has announced will take place in Faisalabad, Lahore and Karachi. The decision to let the workers leave the protesting sight came a day after Qadri announced to contest the next general elections and therefore choosing a democratic way of bringing about the ‘revolution’ he wants. It is reportedly being said that the PAT has secretly signed a deal with the government to get a “face saving” exit. The government will now probably withdraw most of the anti-terrorism cases filed against PAT workers and leaders. Whether such reports hold any weight or not, it as a good sign that belatedly though it may be, the parties have come to a peaceful agreement. As a matter of fact, the government quite early conceded to the doable demands put up by the PAT leadership but the deadlock persisted only due to the unreasonable demands. Nonetheless, the government still has to broker a deal with Imran Khan who has vowed to spend his Eid at D-Chowk.

it was written on the walls that no matter how unwavering and disgruntled these protestors from the twin parties might be, the material conditions would not allow them to stay much longer and it was inevitable that the crowd will dwindle. Therefore, the strategy by both the leaders — Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri — to shift their protests elsewhere was nothing but the outcome of sagging morale of the waning supporters and the on-ground logic demanded them to do so in order to save themselves from any public embarrassment. Nevertheless, the decision made by Qadri to leave the sit-in and take part in the next elections is a welcome sign that the political logjam is finally breaking.