Ongoing protests, besides holding the capital hostage, has made the already battered economy suffer financial losses.
ISLAMABAD: The country’s capital has been under siege for almost a fortnight now. Followers of the PTI and the PAT have occupied the capital’s Red Zone and, besides other things, they are demanding the prime minister’s resignation. The principal charge of election rigging, levelled by the two parties against the incumbent government, may be correct, to some extent, but unless proven by evidence, this demand is unjustified.
The issues of corruption, nepotism, economic and social injustice and electoral reforms raised by both the PTI and the PAT are things that most Pakistanis would themselves believe in and the demand by both Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri to make the current system of autocratic governance more people-centered is undoubtedly needed.
Their actions have caused a loss to the country. The ongoing protests, besides holding the capital of Pakistan a hostage has made the already severely battered economy of the country suffer mammoth financial losses of more than Rs800 billion. This loss undoubtedly is bound to increase if the protests continue and an early end to the impasse is not brought about through dialogue between the government and the agitating parties. One hopes that good sense will prevail among the leaders of the agitating parties.
M Fazal Elahi
Published in The Express Tribune, September 2nd, 2014.
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