A matter of protest

It is a fact that the PTI must now look at itself as a party which wields power, not one sitting in the opposition.

Since the May 11 election, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers, supporters and activists have spent more time on the street than any other party, protesting alleged rigging in the polls. They resorted to this action again on August 24, as hundreds of party members gathered on the Mall Road Lahore, to highlight wrongdoing in the August 22 by-poll, notably in PP-150 Lahore, where they say a PTI candidate was deprived of victory after winning the poll.

Over 100 PTI supporters were rounded up by the police in the city, but released after a few hours on the orders of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. As soon as the supporters were released, they again took to the Mall Road to resume their protest. Imran Khan and others have also vocally spoken out against the arrests. As Mian Nawaz Sharif stated in his sensible intervention in the matter, every party has a right to peaceful protest. But, as the Punjab administration told him, rallies on the Mall are banned under a Lahore High Court order and clearly, there should be no exceptions made for a particular party.

It is also a fact that the PTI must now look at itself as a party which wields power, not one sitting in the opposition. It has before it a daunting task in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where its government must attempt to re-establish some order and tackle militancy. It must also play a role in the National Assembly as an opposition able to contribute to devising solutions for the country. This can only happen if it reduces its role on the streets and makes governance its priority. Most people who voted for the PTI would like to see what it can offer them. This cannot be determined if protests are the main focus of the party, but only if it adopts a larger role as well in the affairs of the state and devotes much-needed attention to this. Policies, not protests, are then the need of the day. Imran Khan and his team must think about this and come up with a plan of action.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2013.

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