It is now important than ever for the PAT chief to come up with a strong political rhetoric
QUETTA: Shortly after Nawaz Sharif was removed from his office, Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Tahirul Qadri made a dramatic but seasonal comeback to the political scene. The party head also announced a sit-in in Punjab after Eid to seek justice for the victims of a police crackdown on protesters that happened three years ago on June 17th, 2014 in Lahore.
Considering the forthcoming general elections, Qadri has made a timely return, however, with the same old card that he has been using against the government for the past three years regardless of it being proven worthless over time.
Previously, Qadri ended a two-month long protest outside parliament in the federal capital and flew back to London, which is recalled by many as a deal struck between the PAT chief and the establishment. The Lahore High Court judicial commission during the investigations of the incident, held the Punjab government responsible for the clash between the protesters and the police which killed 14 people. However, the findings of the commission are less probable to help the PAT gain a strong foothold in local politics, particularly in the presence of contemporaries like Imran Khan and his party PTI that emerged as the most hostile opposition to the present government.
Therefore, it is now important than ever for the PAT chief to come up with a strong political rhetoric that does not just revolve around a province but the entire country as a vision for a long-term political struggle.
Umar Ikram
Published in The Express Tribune, August 18th, 2017.
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