The cost of inflexibility

What is going on in Islamabad is now a farce that will only serve to mask Nawaz Administration's flaws

For a party that made the most effort to highlight the technical soundness of its economic agenda, the PTI seems remarkably indifferent to the damage the obstinacy of its leader has done to the economy and to the government. There have been conflicting reports of how much the total economic damage has been, with the government quoting figures as high as Rs547 billion. The calculations behind that number are highly crude, but the government’s attempts to quantify the losses do raise an important point: the PTI leadership has been just as callous to the needs of the people of Pakistan as it accuses the Nawaz Administration of being.



Consider the following facts. As a result of the protests, the seat of government — the Pakistan Secretariat — has been almost completely shut down, hindering the functioning of several important ministries. Strange as it may seem to the more cynical ears, but the government of Pakistan actually does provide some essential services to its people. Is the PTI really willing to deprive people of those services while it continues protests that have long since ceased to make any sense?

Schools in Islamabad were shut for several weeks. We were under the impression that the PTI planned on making education a priority. In addition, police deployments for security in the Red Zone mean fewer policemen available elsewhere to keep the streets safe. If this were a high-minded battle against a ruthless dictatorial regime, perhaps some level of disruption in government services may have been justified. But these protests are against an elected prime minister. Perhaps, the PTI has forgotten, but we as voters have the right to throw him out of office if we do not like his performance over his five-year term. The Nawaz Administration has many, many flaws and it has made several mistakes for which its leaders deserve to be held to account. But what is going on in Islamabad is now a farce that will only serve to mask those flaws by creating a ridiculous spectacle that serves no purpose.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th, 2014.

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