A FEW days ago, the much-awaited and anticipated multiparty conference was finally held and it passed a 27-point resolution called Pakistan Democratic Movement to oust the current government.

The opposition has planned to do this by organising a long march and mass protests in every nook and corner of the country.

However, there is little evidence that street agitation can show the government the door, especially if it is backed by known unknowns. Thus, ousting the present regime, let alone ‘minus one’, appears a nut too difficult for them to crack in the foreseeable future.

So now, what else can they have in their store? Perhaps, a little introspection can help. In the past, both the PPP and PML-N had misused the state institutions against each other for political gains, and shook hands with the establishment to pressure the then party in power.

Besides, during their respective tenures, they weakened the state institutions and corrupted the system for their parochial interests.

As a consequence, they created a power vacuum only to be filled by a much stronger and meritocratic institution of the state. There was writing on the walls, but both the parties turned their blind eyes to it. Who to blame? Even, an airhead can answer.

To sum up, lambasting the government won’t produce results. Instead, the parties, mainly the PPP and PML-N, ought to learn from their past follies, and must think and rethink their strategies if they really want to bring democracy back on its track.

Perhaps establishing their electoral promises into realities can be a good way forward.

H. A
Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2020