Long march concerns

We may know unsavoury characters fronting DPC but we also need to investigate if establishment is working behind it.

The Difa-e-Pakistan Council’s (DPC) recent long march into the capital against the resumption of Nato supplies raises two main concerns about the right wing coalition’s protest. Extremist groups have now been given cover and credibility by ostensibly mainstream parties. Along with outfits like the Jamaatud Dawa and the Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat, the long march also included parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami, which have a shot at winning significant representation in parliament. Figures like Sheikh Rasheed, who have served in the National Assembly, also give a sliver of respectability to what essentially remains a fringe movement. Added to that, the PTI gave its moral support to the DPC even if it wasn’t a major part of the movement. All this makes the DPC a political force to contend with even if it is unlikely to ever amount to an electoral alliance.

Another concern raised by the long march is why it was ever allowed to be held in the first place. Many groups that comprise the DPC have been outlawed and, as such, should not be allowed to hold rallies. The double standard that was at play here cannot be overstated. Protests by the Young Doctors Association were sternly dealt with by the Punjab government, yet the federal government chose to allow groups, credibly accused of terrorism, to march unimpeded. It seems that the government is too fearful to take a stand on this issue.

We may know the unsavoury characters that front the DPC but we also need to investigate if the establishment is working behind the scenes. There are those who think that encouraging the activities of the DPC works out well for an establishment that is reliant on the US for its funding but follows what some would say is an essentially anti-American agenda. This allows it to cave in on US demands like allowing drone attacks and the supply of Nato trucks, while drumming up populist sentiment against the civilian government. This is also why the DPC cannot be written off as a coalition of marginal figures.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2012.