Opposition’s movement

The opposition has kicked off a countrywide ‘Movement to Protect the Constitution’. The first salvos of what is primarily a campaign against the establishment-backed ruling dispensation have been fired from Pishin town in Balochistan. Led by PTI, the movement also features BNP-M, PkMAP, MWM and SIC. While Jamaat-e-Islami’s Liaqat Baloch did appear at the Pishin rally on Saturday, the party is still weighing its options on whether or not to join the opposition ranks. The anti-government coalition is also trying to woo JUI-F whose chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, has earlier hinted at going solo against the government. If the opposition succeeds in winning over JUI-F and JI – the two parties with formidable street power – it will indeed turn into a force to reckon with. And once the movement picks up momentum, there is a strong likelihood of other political parties as well as bar councils and university students to jump on to the bandwagon.

So, what should the government’s strategy be in the face of the gathering political storm? What should the government do to douse the anger brewing in the opposition ranks? Is it an option for the government to succumb to the opposition’s demands which all boil down to one thing: the audit of the 2024 election results? Can the government afford to, say, set up a commission to investigate the allegations of rigging in the election? Certainly not! Because that would be akin to the government signing its own death warrant. In fact, the possibility of a probe commission only exits if that happens under a partisan fact-finder just meant to fulfil the formality. Would that quiet down the opposition? No, not at all! The opposition is not going to settle for anything less than a transparent inquiry into the “mandate theft” through what they call pre-poll, post-poll and poll day rigging.

This means that the ruling coalition should brace itself for a serious challenge to its existence. And soon the nation may witness yet another episode of what has been a regular feature of our politics since 1971: an opposition movement to bring down the government. The situation has reminded Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chairperson of the PPP which is a major partner in the ruling coalition, of the movement against the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1977 that culminated in a martial law imposed by Gen Zia-ul Haq. Bilawal says some politicians – out to play with the country’s future for their vested interests and their so-called ego – want to bring another PNA, referring to the nine-party alliance that brought about the fall of the Bhutto government. With that, Bilawal has also come up with a useful piece of advice for all politicians to come to the negotiating table, instead of resorting to protests and sit-ins, and resolve all issues. That should be the way to go, given that the country is already suffering from crisis of all sorts and cannot afford the political instability to continue.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2024.

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