A besieged Islamabad

The long march has been on the road for a full one week now with no visible indication of it weakening either in numbers, or in the trademark expression of the intensity of passion associated with it. From city to city, the march has been welcomed by multitudes of supporters with a vow to stand with Imran Khan for the cause of bringing about a substantive and meaningful change in the way Pakistan has been governed.

In the meanwhile, it is a barricaded Islamabad we see with containers lined up along every road, big or small, to block the way of the protesters when they eventually enter the city. Every turning has become a blind corner with metal hitting metal ever so often. Signs of fear, nay terror, are visibly sinking in. But one thing is certain: the long march is not melting away without attaining its avowed objective of early elections in the country.

With the kind of resounding public support which has been on display throughout the route of the march, which was traditionally labelled as Sharif territory, this eventuality may turn out to be the most feasible of the options debated in the past few weeks involving all contenders. Otherwise, the prospect of confrontation looms that may turn into a rudderless monolith dismantling everything that comes in its way.

The incumbents and their patrons, within and outside the country, have tried every trick in their bag to damage Khan’s surging popularity. Fake cases were registered against him one after the other, his associates were harassed, arrested and subjected to brutal custodial torture, his public support policies were reversed, media put in chains when it came to broadcasting his news, live transmission of his speeches was banned, channels supportive of the PTI locked down – nothing, absolutely nothing has deterred the passion for Khan which has continued to increase. It is now nearing its crescendo as the march moves towards Rawalpindi/Islamabad for the final showdown.

There is much happening behind closed doors. Quite obviously, the spectacle around is the last thing those responsible for dismantling Khan’s constitutional government would have imagined to happen. They thought that, once out of power, Khan would be a dead force politically and he would be easily managed just like so many of his predecessors had been in the past. But then, there are people, and there are people. Khan is made of a different mettle because he has no skeletons in his closet, no billions stashed away in foreign banks, no sprawling and palatial palaces abroad, and no progeny waiting to take over the party after him.

Alongside other objectives, institutionalizing political parties has been one of his cherished dreams. He is the only one who ever held a credible intra-party election in the PTI to afford its members an opportunity to elect leadership of their liking. He remains determined to make this a regular phenomenon and, after the ongoing battle is won, this is what he would be concentrating on to generate a niche for the PTI different from the sickening family fiefdoms that practically all other political parties are in this country with the mantle of leadership passing from father/mother to son/daughter with the rest fit only to bang approval in a humiliatingly servile manner and go on to defend the sordid corruption of their leaders.

This march signifies much more than just a physical reality. Principally, it reflects that Pakistan has changed and its people are no longer willing to live like animals in a system controlled by the elite vested interest who have a stranglehold over the state which they are not willing to forfeit. This is what this battle is about with few understanding its dynamics and the abject meaninglessness of the tricks they may use to subvert it. Khan has ignited the light and it is the people who are going to keep it burning till they arrive at the final destination of transforming the country into a welfare state dedicated to the ideals of equality, equity and justice for all without any discrimination.

While the role of the beneficiary politicians is understandable in their desperate bid to save their citadels of crime and corruption, others jumping into their defence presents a sad and depressing spectacle.

The battle has gone far and there is little prospect of it withering away without achieving its minimum target of holding free and fair elections in the country without any further delay and allowing a government to take charge which has the mandate of the people of the country and is not a planted concoction which is rooted in conspiracy and corruption by virtue of artificial support secured by offering huge inducements to win over legislators.

One good thing the apex court has done is to adjudicate that a vote cast by a legislator against the instructions of the parliamentary leader of the party shall not be counted. Thus the scourge of buying votes may, after all, now be consigned to the past. If, however, a legislator does not agree with the instructions of his/her parliamentary leader, they have the option to resign and fight the battle from the platform of another party they may choose. That fundamental right remains intact, but they cannot use their election from one platform to divorce it midstream and extend support to another party that is offering them illicit goodies. This is possibly the reason why, despite the desperate endeavours of the incumbent federal government and its patrons, they have not been able to dismantle the provincial governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which is a healthy sign for strengthening of the democratic polity.

With Islamabad under siege and the rulers and their patrons at their wits’ end, one hopes that sanity shall prevail in the days that lie ahead. Taking on the onslaught of people charged with vibrant and indomitable passion would enact a tragic denouement. It is a silent revolution on the move. Instead of fighting it with venom, barricades, tear gas and firing, let’s celebrate it as a moment of shaping a new Pakistan.

The writer is a political andsecurity strategist and the founder of the Regional Peace Institute in Islamabad. He tweets @RaoofHasan