What now after the ‘do-or-die’ march

Weeks after the PTI’s “do or die” march failed to secure his release from prison, former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan is now threatening the government with a “civil disobedience movement.”

Khan’s threat includes a new set of demands for the government, which consist of releasing protesters and reversing constitutional amendments that his party views as attempts to politically and legally marginalise them.

His announcement of a “civil disobedience” campaign is both amusing and surprising, even for those in his party leadership.

Over the past months, Khan has actively pushed for protests, aiming to turn the state’s crackdown on his popular party to his advantage. However, this strategy has failed, as those in power recognize that they could use similar tactics to undermine him.

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The recent casualties during the protests in Islamabad underscore that the political turmoil in Pakistan is not connected to the rule of law or democracy. Both the government and the PTI are fiercely focused on undermining each other, ignoring constitutional protections and fundamental rights.

In this conflict, there does not seem to be any rules. Both factions are determined to dehumanize ordinary protesters, workers as well as those deployed to confront them.

Following the end of PTI’s Islamabad protest, the party’s leadership aggressively employed terms like ‘seas of blood,’ ‘massacre,’ and ‘state terrorism,’ claiming that hundreds of protesters died.

This inflammatory rhetoric is a clear attempt to delegitimize the government’s actions aimed at stopping them in any form. For the PTI, these sensationalized claims are more about political maneuvering than truth.

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It’s evident that the PTI sought to inflate the death toll to gain leverage in negotiations with the government.

The government on the other hand swiftly branded the protesters as “trained extremists,” “Afghans,” ensuring these narratives saturated cable channels.

Moreover, the Punjab government went as far as utilizing taxpayer money for ads that framed protesters from one province as radicals while portraying another province’s leadership as a model of hope and development.

This was coupled with celebrations of muted response from Punjab’s public to PTI’s calls for protest, stressing that people had moved on from politics of hostility.

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This situation reveals a serious and alarming combination of errors. A prominent political party seems to be actively working to undermine its support base by constantly pitching its workers against the state for the sake of concessions, rather than embracing the opportunity for constructive dialogue that could unite the country in these divisive times.

Similarly, the government is making a mistake by portraying a popular party and its millions of supporters as misguided or extremists. This approach will only deepen the party and its supporter’s disillusionment with the state.

Silence from these voters, out of fear, does not equate to acceptance of the state’s narrative.

Khan’s latest declaration of a civil disobedience campaign exemplifies the same confrontational mentality. It is clear that such efforts are unlikely to succeed, and Khan is endangering the legacy of genuine civil disobedience movements that were pivotal in achieving significant social and political change.

Khan’s previous attempt at civil disobedience in 2014 was a failure. He stopped paying his electricity bill for months, only to abandon the campaign when no one paid any attention, ultimately remembering it only after his electricity was cut off due to non-payment.

This time around, Khan is clearly planning a shift in strategy, especially regarding civil disobedience. His party currently governs a province where tensions with state authorities have escalated due to increasing militant attacks and widespread political grievances.

At the upcoming gathering in Peshawar to honor the martyrs from Islamabad, Khan may hint at his government halting all cooperation with the central authorities, ceasing tax collection, and declaring outright non-cooperation with the state. Even if this rhetoric is not entirely sincere, it carries significant weight and can energize ordinary workers.

Khan anticipates that his legal troubles will worsen in the coming days.

Pakistan is entering a perilous phase of political instability, and the current calm may foreshadow significant turmoil ahead.

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