THE state had to use force to crush the opposition party’s so-called ‘revolution’. Tragically, lives of security personnel were lost in this ill-conceived misadventure. The question is: what were they even thinking? Reaching D-Chowk, perhaps, but then what? What was the grand plan? No idea. It was a clumsy, leaderless and headless endeavour.
Riding on the coattails of Donald Trump’s victory in the United States, and a rather miscalculated reading of Pakistan’s political landscape, the party sounded its ‘final call’. But, after burning through whatever political capital the party had, what is the plan now? As for the complaints of state brutality, the state always uses force when its authority is challenged. This is a global thing.
The party supporters, now experiencing it firsthand, are simply walking the same path of repression that other political parties have long lamented. Only when it hits home does the reality sink in.
As such, the fact of the matter is that what took place on the streets was not a revolution. It was a raw, naked struggle for power. There is no higher cause, no quest for the betterment of the people; just an endless pursuit of vendetta.
Politics is the art of possibilities, not stubbornness. If the party clings on to its obstinacy, it might remain popular on social media, but that popularity will amount to little more than cheap thrills.
Bahadar Ali Khan
Toronto, Canada
Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2024
