Vendetta in desperation

The government is certainly ill-advised in moving ahead to ban a political party. The decision to ban PTI and try its stalwarts — including former PM Imran Khan, former President Dr Arif Alvi and former Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri — for treason seems to be a desperate attempt without resourcing to the history of the country’s checkered politics. Such berserk moves against many entities, such as NAP, have failed in the past and the outcome is unlikely to be different this time too. The surprise step is born out of political exigency, and taken under duress, to say the least. Perhaps, it is a xenophobic political decision that the PML-N had taken without consulting its allies, especially the PPP, which is unlikely to back it in terms of its erstwhile narrative on inclusivism. So is the case with MQM and ANP, who are unlikely to board the bandwagon of political suicide.

Apparently, the pushback that came from the Supreme Court’s 8-5 majority verdict wherein the beleaguered PTI got a shot in the arm in terms of reserved seats, making it as the single largest party in the parliament, had left the ruling dispensation with no political alternate but to strike back in vengeance. In doing so, the PML-N has harmed its image as a vibrant political force that campaigned for civil supremacy and a level-playing field for all when faced with adversities.

There is still a long way to go, and there could be many a slip between the cup and the lip. As per convention, the federal cabinet has to send a reference to the apex court within 15 days for banning the PTI, and the current judicial activism makes it a weak case for the PML-N. The top court too could turn back the reference citing any of the discrepancies; and even if it sails ahead, the judiciary will be within real constraints to ban the most popular political party of the country.

Nonetheless, the charge-sheet spelt out is run-of-the-mill, featuring pro-democracy-cum-PTI resolution in the American Congress, the cipher campaigning, May 9 violence and receipt of foreign funds by the impugned party. The PTI leadership already stands absolved in many of these cases in the court of law, and citing them again as prosecution’s finer-points will be unsustainable.

Rejoinders to the government’s Machiavellianism from the civil strata should be the writing on the wall. Seasoned politicians like Farhatullah Babar of PPP and Mushahid Hussain Syed of PML-N have already termed it a non-starter and rubbish in essence. Likewise, this playing to the gallery from a dispensation sailing on an ice sheet is likely to beget more confrontation, and push the country over the brink. That would be a great disservice to the nation at a critical juncture.

The PML-N needs some political orientation, and should desist from cutting the branch of democracy with which it is hanging near the cliff. It should rather gear up for a political battle with the PTI on the floor of the house, and not through tools of extermination in the administrative milieu.