The question of PTI talking to the government

Imran Khan does not want to talk to the so-called government that likes to congratulate itself on being the elected regime. The reason that Khan has mentioned behind his rationale is not different from the rationale that the Taliban in Afghanistan had some years ago. Perhaps someone with a history of practising lifafa journalism should jump on the opportunity and refresh the Taliban Khan label that Imran Khan used to have.

The Taliban in Afghanistan — and I don’t mean the fake Taliban in the tribal areas of Pakistan but rather the organic Taliban, if you will, that had been born in Afghanistan in 1996 out of the intense wars between the Mujahideen turned Afghan warlords in the post-Soviet and American withdrawal phase — had been relentlessly refusing to negotiate with the government of Ashraf Ghani in Afghanistan because they argued that the power belonged to the Americans and therefore, negotiating and talking with a regime that had no power in making decisions was a futile exercise. They were not only not wrong in their rationale but were also factually right. Power in Afghanistan belonged to the American forces and the Taliban fighters. The talks could only happen between these two parties. Ghani did not even venture out of the presidential palace much.

Imran Khan has also refused to talk with to even weaker regime in Pakistan for the same reason. The power does not belong to this illegitimate government. Talking to this corrupt and weak regime would be a total waste of time and energy and would only create more space for anyone who wants to do further harm for selfish motives. While such talks between the PTI and the government would give every recognition and legitimacy to this regime, the regime in return wouldn’t be able to give any benefit to the PTI because its credibility and power piggy bank are totally empty. Therefore, talking to this regime would do more harm than any good for the PTI.

Power is like energy in many ways. Just like energy remains constant and only changes form. When one body loses energy, another gains it keeping the energy balance intact between two bodies. In politics, they say, you must negotiate from a position of power but that is incomplete. You have to negotiate from a position of strength but also with a party that is capable of yielding some power in order for a simple exchange to occur. If one body yields power in one form, another would gain it. If the establishment embraces the PTI, the party would gain power yielded by the establishment and in return the establishment would gain the love and support of the people yielded by the PTI. That is a perfect exchange where each side needs what the other has and each side can yield what the other needs.

The PTI holds the power of public popularity and the establishment holds power in the state. Both can exchange in a bargain made in heaven. PTI and this current regime are incompatible when it comes to exchanging power because the government has no power.

I was once playing cricket in a tournament in Houston. Our captain was a man around the age of 55 and didn’t play very well compared to the rest of us who were in our twenties. One night, before the match was about to begin, he thought he was going to give us some wisdom and motivational speech. So, he said that for victory, “all we need in the team is 4 best batsmen and 4 best bowlers”. Knowing that he, despite being the captain, belonged to neither camp, I joked that “perhaps we also need four best cheerleaders” to support the team and that he should volunteer to be that exactly.

Perhaps, the Shehbaz Sharif-led regime should start thinking about playing that role in this power saga that is shaping and unfolding in front of us.

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

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