Imran’s circus

This letter refers to the article ‘Obviating the obvious’ (February 26, 2023) by Salaar Khan. By titling the article as he did, the writer leaves us in no doubt that he regards as material only the situation after the dissolution of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab assemblies. However, a comprehensive discussion of the matter will involve serious consideration of various issues concerning the assemblies, including the reasons for dissolution. After all, holding fresh elections for national and/or provincial assemblies is a massive exercise which requires substantial expenditure plus input from various institutions, including those dealing with security. That is why these exercises are planned to be held not every month or year but just once in every five years.

Unfortunately, the opposition has turned politics and the electoral process into a sort of joke. Their leader and his followers, when out of power, are desperate to get in. But they will resign at the drop of a hat if they do not get their way and then rinse and repeat. There is also the wasteful exercise where Imran Khan competes on far too many seats, necessitating fresh elections on the remaining seats yet again. I strongly feel that such disorderly conduct must not be tolerated and the opposition should stick to the elections schedule rather than pulling all sorts of stunts to get them brought forward.

SRH Hashmi

Karachi