Gujranwala show

Opposition parties are finally on one page — having embarked on an anti-government movement from the PML-N stronghold of Gujranwala on Friday with a grand show of strength. And the credit of uniting as many as 11 opposition parties into PDM — the Pakistan Democratic Movement — goes to none other than the non-performing government of Prime Minister Imran Khan itself. For the opposition parties to unite was not easy. They had made umpteen attempts to join forces since the PTI-led coalition had taken charge of the country, but the unity eluded them on all occasions.

To start with, the opposition could not agree on a joint candidate to run against Imran Khan for the post of Prime Minister, mainly because the PPP had objected to the candidature of Shehbaz Sharif. And just days later, the two major opposition parties fielded their separate candidates for the Office of President against Dr Arif Alvi of the ruling coalition. Five months on — in January 2019 to be exact — the opposition parties attempted to revive the Chartered of Democracy originally signed between Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto in 2006, in what was to be a movement against the government. The bigwigs from the two sides as well as from JUI-F and ANF met in much fanfare, but the movement turned out to be a non-starter. And when in October 2019, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had to single-handedly lead a march on Islamabad even despite assurances of support from the PPP and the PML-N, it was clear that there could be no such thing as combined opposition.

Therefore, the formation of PDM — as well as a successful start of their movement aimed at toppling the PTI-led government — is quite an achievement. The numbers at the Jinnah Stadium in Gujranwala, where the alliance had its maiden political gathering, were pretty encouraging from the opposition’s point of view. The venue was noisy and the opposition supporters and followers were lively and charged up. Even though the central opposition leaders — Bilawal Bhutto, Maryam Nawaz and Maulana Fazl — made a very late appearance and the show continued a couple of hours beyond midnight, the venue remained packed to capacity. The speeches made on the occasion not only hit what the opposition calls the government-establishment nexus but also catered to the sentiments of the public by lashing out at the ruling party over the back-breaking price hike, growing unemployment and rising poverty. If described in cricket parlance, the opposition is off to a flier, and the Gujranwala show has provided their movement a good momentum.

However, if the PTI’s anti-government movement of 2014 — which featured a 126-day-long sit-in and dozens of public meetings with huge crowds in attendance — is any guide, the PDM movement will not be able to topple the Imran Khan government, at least in its immediate aftermath. But it may cause the Prime Minister to concede political space to his opponents and weaken his government. What should then the government’s counter-strategy be? Well, the government is required to address the factors that have provided the room for the opposition to come out of the defensive mode and rather be offensive. The government will have to take concrete steps to control price hike and lower the utilities prices, besides giving a patient hearing to the various segments of the workforce, some of whom have camped out in front of the Parliament House to press for their demands. Unleashing the Tiger Force on traders is like providing them reasons to unite with the opposition. It’s time for the government to wise up.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2020.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.