Press "Enter" to skip to content

Stalemate politics: edit in The News, Nov 19, 2020


Politics and the political game in today’s Pakistan does not seem to be moving beyond settled positions. For example, has the opposition, through its rallies, been able to push the government into a corner from where it will not be able to fight back? Or is the opposition in a situation where it will be forced to stage a long march to Islamabad, at which point the issue of how long such an effort can be sustained – especially given winter and rising cases of Covid-19 – becomes the key question. Maulana Fazalur Rahman has said that the PDM will not be calling off its rallies, as requested by the government in view of the coronavirus pandemic, and will hold its next events in Peshawar, then Multan and Lahore. The opposition leaders including Ch Ahsan Iqbal also say the future plan will be announced soon.

The opposition insists that the coronavirus situation being put forward by the government as a reason to stop its own rallies and asked opposition to curb its own is simply a way to stem the opposition movement and stop it in its stride. It is difficult to agree with the opposition on this, given that Covid-19 cases are now averaging over 2000 a day and the evidence from hospitals suggests that the situation can get very dire very quickly. Should the opposition then move towards talks? While almost all the stakeholders in this little equation have talked about a dialogue at one point or the other, the opposition parties do seem to have settled on one condition: the ouster of the current government before any talks can happen. Prime Minister Imran Khan has made some moves forward by suggesting that the opposition take part in talks on electoral reforms. This is important given that one of the main complaints of the opposition is that the 2018 election was rigged. Perhaps dialogue could lead towards setting up reforms, which could prevent rigging in the future election. At the same time, however, we also have a justifiable trust deficit within the political community in the country. This will not go away without an honest national dialogue and a truth and reconciliation commission, which has been demanded time and again by those who come from the ‘political peripheries’ of the country.

We need political stability in order to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, which is still claiming lives every day and also to get our economy back on an even footing. The economy has been hit by the virus, but also by the fear factor. It is only when we have a stable political front that it will be possible to gain economic normalcy and a resumption of activities at all levels. These are all factors the government and the opposition need to think about. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/745673-stalemate-politics