Key Takeaways
- The PTI’s long march to Islamabad has been postponed by a week.
- KP Chief Minister Sohail Khan Afridi, 37, is leading the PTI.
- The government is preparing to 'fix' the PTI 'for good' if they march.
KP Chief Minister Sohail Khan Afridi, 37, is set to lead the PTI into another showdown with the state, but his party’s long march to Islamabad has been postponed by a week, giving everyone some breathing space.
Afridi, who was slated to lead the PTI this Sunday, must live up to some daunting expectations from the hardliners within his ranks. He has to succeed where others more experienced than him have failed, or face relegation and possibly political oblivion.
The odds remain stacked against him, and the PTI’s opponents have left no stone unturned to impress upon him and his party what their prospects are if they march.
The government, intoxicated by the impunity granted to it under the current configuration of state, is making it abundantly clear that it will 'fix' the PTI 'for good' if it dares march.
However, this show of strength is, in large part, a mask for the government’s weakness. Whatever calm the country has seen of late has merely been the lull before another storm.
Ordinary Pakistanis have endured years of economic hardship, and the protracted war in the Gulf has now handed this government another painful economic test — one it does not appear equipped to pass.
Both sides appear to be in varying states of desperation. The coming days could prove dangerous for the federation: a province marching on a barricaded capital.
De-escalation is required, however remote a possibility it may seem at this point. Those in power must realise that no matter what they accomplish and no matter how comprehensively they are able to thwart the opposition, power is fleeting and the future will bring consequences in one form or another.
Pakistan’s history is replete with missteps and unfortunate decisions that continue to hurt its present generations. The PTI, too, must realise that politics and negotiation remain the most viable path forward.
There is a real danger that its march, if it goes ahead next weekend, may still end in violence and bloodshed. Fresh bloodshed will not advance its cause.
