Countdown to Aug 14

Published August 1, 2014
The writer is Dawn’s resident editor in Lahore.
The writer is Dawn’s resident editor in Lahore.

POLITICALLY, this must have been one of the more hectic Ramazans in the history of Pakistan. There was not as much action as in the preceding weeks, which was understandable given the limits placed by the holy month. But some barriers were broken and far from taking a breather in their relentless attack on the government, opposition parties, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in particular, made sure that the PML-N was given no respite.

For each statement issued by the PTI, there had to be four fired in reaction by the PML-N stalwarts. That served Imran Khan’s purpose well. His party had already broken the myth that summer protest rallies in Pakistan were sparsely attended. Now the PTI has proved that, provided you were persistent, some politicking was possible in the country beyond the display of political presence at the usual iftar parties.

There was — there has been — sufficient evidence that the PTI’s change is not restricted to the party’s practising politics in periods where the norm is to go easy. There are signs that the issues it raises also have resonance in public. The support has remained on view, and the fact that the PTI was able to sustain pressure throughout Ramazan could help it greatly in achieving momentum for its scheduled Aug 14 march.

Apart from countering one PTI statement with a barrage unleashed by a team of worthy ministers, there have been disturbing reports about the possible arrests of some PTI leaders in early August to thwart the march. Let us hope that the government refrains from dispensing this tried and tested potion to the protesters.


There have been disturbing reports about the possible arrests of some PTI leaders in early August to thwart the march.


Also, the PML-N has been parading its development model as a counter to the challenge that the PTI as well as the Pakistan Awami Tehreek has thrown its way. That does not seem to be working. There is just enough panic in the treasury’s ranks to betray insecurity which in turn finds expression in the most ordinary schemes that the government has come up with in its effort to take the wind out of the PTI’s sails.

One such plan is where the PML-N has chosen to use Independence Day to weave its defence against the PTI’s Aug 14 march around. The government apparently believes that by celebrating Indepen­dence Day in an unprecedentedly loud manner it will be able to outshout the PTI. This is very basic and quite naïve, even when the intention behind this resort to patriotic flag-waving is to brandish the government’s respect for the state — and of course the Constitution — in opposition to a ‘bunch of people’ keen on finding extra-constitutional remedies to their grievances.

The idea of matching protest with celebration has evolved from the PML-N tactic of organising a song and dance show to coincide with PTI public meetings. The PML-N has held these shows to divert attention from the Imran Khan rallies without realising that it could add to the impact of the PTI jalsas which remained well attended despite the attempt at diversion. As the same failed scheme is now being planned to be carried out on a larger scale, it is doubtful if the PTI and its supporters could have asked for a bigger confirmation of just how threatened the PML-N is feeling.

For a brief period during Ramazan it appeared as if the PML-N was thinking about a change in its approach to dealing with Imran Khan’s long march. It was during this time that the ministerial assaults on the PTI became a little infrequent and there were a few statements which indicated that, finally, some thought was being given to use a less confrontational policy to defuse the situation.

The promise was short-lived and soon the brigade returned to its old adversarial ways to tackling the marchers, leading to the unveiling of the so-called governmental masterstroke: the decision to call in the army under Article 245 to secure Islamabad, the long march destination on Aug 14.

There may be some political merit in a strategy that seeks to bring Imran Khan — many believe the man who is backed by the invisible establishment — face to face with the army. But that will be then. For the moment, the opposition seems to be winning some points as the interior minister, with a mixture of visible anxiety and his customary straight face, goes about the unenviable task of convincing everyone around that the decision to get the army’s help is not PTI-specific.

How some of Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s admirers wish him to have extended his holiday from work for a few more weeks. This is the only way he could have avoided generating the latest round of criticism for the strangest explanations he has been coming up with since he took up the ministry last year.

Chaudhry Nisar wants people to believe that the decision to call in the army to guard the capital was taken at the time when Operation Zarb-i-Azb was launched to clean up North Waziristan. If this makes little sense given the long time it has taken to be conveyed to the public, the interior minister, in his eagerness to drive home the point, raises the dangerous and most disturbing spectre of how the operation could bring the war onto the streets of Pakistan, necessitating army security for Islamabad.

If anything, this belated clarification adds to the impression that the interior minister and his government are rather slow in deliberating over and deciding about the highly sensitive issues the country is faced with. And if he is speaking the truth about the timing of the decision, logically, Article 245 should have been invoked immediately after the launch of the North Waziristan operation. It has been made public too close to the appointed day of Aug 14 for the people to separate it from the PTI march.

The writer is Dawn’s resident editor in Lahore.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2014

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