EDITORIAL: PTI’s decision to “end mistrust with the army” means saner minds in the party have prevailed on the chairman to step back from his politics of confrontation with the establishment in favour of much needed reconciliation; which is why it has been widely welcomed.
Yet even as these words went to press, there was no guarantee that the chairman himself will not take another one of his trademark U-turns and sabotage this process even before they appear in print. Indeed, speaking to reporters at Adiala jail the day after this news, he likened the army to a “spoilt child”, and laid down the same preconditions for such talks that have made them a non-starter so far. So, the jury is still out if PTI really means what it’s saying this time about the détente.
The Director General, Inter-Services Public Relations, considered it necessary to dispel any misconceptions on this matter. In a media briefing, He reiterated the military’s unwavering resolve of not engaging with the PTI until it tenders an apology of its alleged involvement in the 9th May violence
Regardless, circumstances clearly dictate that the political temperature will only begin to drop once PTI dilutes its aggressive outbursts against the military, especially the army chief himself. There’s also a divide on the matter between the party’s Pakistan-based political workers and its volatile social media team, with most of its hate spewing cheerleaders living comfortably outside the country.
Nobody needs a lesson in how the pendulum swings in Pakistan’s politics; especially political leaders who have climbed all the way to the top in the past.
Yet Imran Khan’s story brings valuable lessons that he and his party ignore only to their peril. Once the darling of the establishment like few of his predecessors, Imran also became prime minister just like those before him that he criticises no end. But when the establishment withdrew its support in the wake of the no-confidence motion, he was able to conjure up a narrative that got him the kind of public support that Pakistanis hadn’t lent anybody in fifty years.
That got him the kind of leverage that none of his opponents could ever dream of. Then – and all the way since – he simply did not need any sort of unnecessary controversy to keep his pot boiling.
All he needed to do was employ a tactical political retreat, reposition his pieces on the board, and come back to squeeze the life out of the opposition’s position. Instead, egged on by the many yes-men he chose to surround himself with, he opted for a head-on collision with the same institution that made him prime minister and then let him fall.
This would have been unacceptable and untenable in the best of times. Now, however, Pakistan faces an unprecedented existential threat.
The spectre of insolvency and default demands that the political elite the economic urgency, put everything else aside, and pursue a one-point agenda of surviving this storm. That is not possible when the country’s largest and most popular political party and its most important institution are locked in a head-on confrontation that gets uglier by the day; to the point that the outside world, whose investments are crucial to our survival, is starting to get put off.
There is only one realistic way to move forward in this environment. PTI must end its confrontation and it must be given its fair rights.
How this comes about needs to be negotiated in a way that delivers results. It’s about time that the institutions and politicians that rule this country show the maturity needed to lead it out of its darkest storms. And the time to test that maturity is now, and it is going to be tested across the board.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024