PTI: Playing against themselves

Have we arrived on the promised land yet?

The land where hope and endless comfort reigns. Where pastures are greener and privileges available to everyone are countless.  I think we are not even close. Blindly, silently and now with a confused demeanor, we are following the captain. It appears the confusion is mutual. We are as much clueless about all it, as is the handsome captain. This can continue and it can be stretched, the problem is, public is getting bored and the captain is running out of tricks.

From the day this government took the oath and started working, affairs seem to fall apart. Reason of blind reliance on PTI wasn’t limited to their tall claims but also due to the fact that they were trying to reach here for many years and must have equipped themselves well with the required skills and strategies.  Naturally, this had to be true. It wasn’t.

Now, at this moment, PTI is being preyed by a number of issues. Some of them are normal and no government could have avoided them, on the other hand, some are of their own making.

The use of force on PPP workers outside the NAB office in Islamabad yesterday was unnecessary. Workers were gathered there to show support to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and most probably would have dispersed once Bilawal had left the building. Use of force, very conveniently handed them victim card which may attract sympathies of PTM in the near future with many-fold strong feelings of a shared cause. The official notification issued a day earlier stating that the gathering of party workers in support of Bilawal may create a law and order situation was nothing more than a lame joke. The arrest of workers including Member of National Assembly could have ended up into a more heated confrontation had PPP given a call to their workers to join them in Islamabad from adjoining cities. Later in a press conference, Bilawal defended this goof act of government with sound logic.

The above-mentioned mischief of government is nothing compared to a recent step taken by President Alvi. He has asked the Supreme Judicial Council to initiate an inquiry under Article 209 of the Constitution of Pakistan against some judges of Sindh High Court and Supreme Courte, who apparently failed to declare foreign assets. This issue, if not addressed at the earliest by Imran Khan himself can wreak havoc. Already an Additional Attorney General has tendered his resignation in protest. It will attract more ire from the legal fraternity eventually shoving the issue into protests. Right now, the most important issue is of the economy. No relief is in sight and every week brings along more taxes to exert extra burden on the already overburdened public. Initiating an inquiry appears to be ego-related.  The same spirit of vendetta with which PTI is dealing with every other opposition party. While engaging in this behavior, sadly, PTI has completely forgotten their primary duties.

As per the news, a new and higher tide of taxes is ready to drown people after Eid. Many daily-use commodities will get even more expensive.  With so many things at hand, it will become difficult to keep the voter convinced for a long time now. There isn’t a single department where PTI can show some measurable progress which has contributed directly to take a little burden off of the public.

PTI needs to focus all the energy on turning the before-elections claims into a reality. They really don’t have much time now. On one side is PTM, opposition parties, and disgruntled voters, who can create big problems if they choose to come on the streets. On the other hand, it is a long to-do list with every single entry waiting to be crossed. The more they’ll shift focus on things which can be sorted out later with ease the more they’ll lose sight of their essential task.

Some things can wait for a while; the genius is, to recognize which can’t. Good luck if they really think that they can win the game by playing against themselves.