13
THE two rallies in the twin cities on Sunday evening did not have much in common except for their anti-government rhetoric and expression of allegiance to the military. There was more of a festive mood at the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s D-Chowk rally in Islamabad with its mixed crowd of the urban elite and party loyalists from the hinterland. But though an impressive turnout, it lacked the charge of past public meetings. Maybe times have changed since last year’s elections.
In contrast, Tahirul Qadri’s rally in Rawalpindi was more of a gathering of devotees drawn from small towns in central Punjab and students of religious schools run by Minhajul Quran. These men, women and children were transported there to hear their leader’s address by video link from his comfortable abode in Canada.
Like disciplined members of a cult, every order of their leader is sacred. Remember last year when they stayed put in Islamabad for three days, braving the harsh, cold winter? But they are hardly vanguard material for the revolution that Qadri promises to bring about.
Sheikh Rashid’s usual bombast, vowing to bring down the government in 10 minutes, may have provided for some brief, light entertainment to the audience, but the speeches at D-Chowk lacked direction. They mostly revolved around the oft-repeated charges of election fraud and rigging. Much time was spent on castigating a particular media group, with all sorts of allegations reserved for it — from being a partner in crime to working on an anti state agenda.
One year is a long time to revive the rigging issue. Too much has happened since then. The PTI had already lost the initiative when it called off the protests against the poll results. It is, perhaps, too late now to mobilise public opinion on the matter.
Imran Khan had not only accepted the PML-N’s mandate to rule, but also worked closely with the Sharif government on some key policy issues during this period. The PTI almost played a secondary role to the government’s on the issue of militancy, extending full support to the talks with the Pakistani Taliban. The bonhomie was further strengthened after the prime minister visited the PTI chief at his residence early this year.
There is no clarity on who Imran Khan is actually blaming for the electoral fraud. He has accused everyone — from the Election Commission to the former chief justice to the Punjab caretaker administration to a media group — for this. That makes things much more complicated. It is hard to fathom the direction in which he is pointing his finger.
For sure there had been reports of widespread vote rigging across the country and no party seems to be satisfied with the results. The elections were not ‘stolen’ only in some Punjab constituencies where the PTI is demanding a recount and verification of the votes. Why should the complaints of other political parties not be heard as well?
What the PTI does not talk about is the pre-election rigging in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where the Awami National Party was forced to abandon its campaign following the targeted terrorist attacks on its candidates. It certainly made the elections one-sided with only the Taliban-approved parties being allowed to stay in the field. But no political party wants to raise this issue.
Surely one cannot agree more with Imran Khan on the imperative of electoral reforms and establishing an all-powerful and independent election commission to make the electoral process more credible and non-controversial in the future. But that requires a constitutional amendment. This could only be achieved by developing a consensus across the divide in parliament.
Imran Khan vowed to continue the protests until his party’s demand for recounting in four constituencies is accepted. A major question is whether it will resolve the controversy, or open a Pandora’s box. An oft-offered solution to end the conflict are mid-term elections. But that certainly would not be acceptable to the main political parties.
A one-point agenda has indeed diverted the PTI’s attention from other critical issues facing the country. Imran Khan’s speech had no mention of the problem of terrorism that continues to take a huge toll, particularly on KP that is ruled by his party.
Meanwhile, in Rawalpindi, Qadri called for the overthrow of the entire political system through people’s power. Unlike last year, the cleric was not there in person, opting to lead the ‘revolution’ from outside. After last year’s humiliation, he wanted to test the waters before deciding to return for what appears to have become an annual ritual.
In his absence, his sons took charge of organising the rally. Obviously, there was nothing wrong in family members of the crusader against hereditary politics inheriting his mantle. What is wrong for others appears kosher for him. Qadri’s nuisance value owes to his massive financial resources. That, he seems to have used for his media publicity. No wonder his interviews have regularly been telecast on TV channels.
Those two rallies have exposed the credibility and the so-called independence of the electronic media. Objectivity has been the biggest victim in the reporting of the events. Qadri’s rally would hardly have had any impact had the TV channels not telecast his entire speech live. Surely the government has overreacted by declaring the PTI campaign a conspiracy to derail the democratic set-up. But it remains to be seen whether Imran Khan is able to bring the Sharif government under more pressure.
The writer is an author and journalist.
Twitter: @hidhussain
Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2014.
