The protest has also been disrupting the image of the country as far as law and order situation is concerned
KARACHI: The so-called Azadi March led by JUI-F leader Maulana Fazalur Rehman has been on its way to disrupt the political status quo of the country. The protesters are ready to accept no less than the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The staged sit-in has started to pose a negative impact on the already-fragile economy of the country. The sit-in has resulted in the closure of business activities in the capital city. The government has been trying its level best to keep the traders away from joining the sit-in. There are a lot of containers placed to block the routes of protesters. The containers have been hired by the government at a certain cost and are now required by the owners for shipments.
The protest has also been disrupting the image of the country as far as law and order situation is concerned. Whenever a political turmoil occurs in a country it carries a certain cost. For a country which has been struggling to attract foreign investors and has been trying to avail all its options to portray a good image with respect to its internal security, protests against the government can have serious repercussions.
These kinds of protests result in disruption of economic activities and a large amount of spending on security maintenance, therefore inflation becomes inevitable as a result. The transport sector is always at a huge revenue loss whenever an area is blocked. Furthermore, besides the economic losses, these protests are always dangerous to human lives. The overall security situation of the country gets disturbed. Others that want to create political turmoil also get a chance to carry on with their activities as a good portion of security is used for the protest. Pakistan has been going through an extremely critical phase, therefore I urge the political forces and the institutions of the country to resolve the matter on a priority basis.
Tariq Faruqi
Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2019.
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