Beyond the ridiculous

Virtual lockdown of large parts of Islamabad by right-wing religious party for fortnight goes beyond the ridiculous

To say that the virtual lockdown of large parts of Islamabad by a right-wing religious party for a fortnight goes beyond the ridiculous is an understatement. Equally to say that the government and its various agencies have displayed comprehensive incompetence is no understatement either. Multiple deadlines for the resolution of the crisis have come and gone. Consultations are endless and fruitless. Ever-increasing and preposterous demands by those manning the blockade make a negotiated resolution increasingly unlikely. There is more than a chance that those ‘protesting’ are seeking to push the government into a violent confrontation that will then be exploited and held up as an example of just how much the government is a mere tool in Western secular hands.

Meanwhile the life of much of the capital city of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is throttled; traders are losing money hand over fist, and commuters massively inconvenienced to say nothing of the cost of wear and tear on their sorely pressed private cars. The latest wrinkle is that the Supreme Court has taken suo-motu notice on the basis of Article 15 of the Constitution which allows and protects freedom of movement to the general public. Contempt notices have been issued to a basket of high-ranking officials and the SC has given yet another deadline of 23^rd November.

None of this needed to have happened. If the law-enforcement agencies had got a grip from the outset and diverted the ‘protesters’ to the Parade Ground they could have squatted there for as long as they liked with no inconvenience to anybody. The issue which supposedly triggered the protests has long disappeared into the background. It was rectified swiftly once its sensitivity was recognised but the ‘protesters’ are having none of it and want scalps. This needs to end and it needs to end now. There is little choice but to physically remove the people blocking the Faizabad interchange. This is not going to be pretty or neat and there is nobody to blame but an incompetent maladroit government. Allowing them space is an unparalleled ceding of power and a clear indicator of who really is in charge.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2017.

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