This letter refers to the editorial ‘Setbacks to democracy’ (September 11, 2024). There is no doubt that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s speeches at the PTI Islamabad rally were highly objectionable and indecent. That being said, the government's introduction of the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill 2024 just one day before the PTI rally, making the bill seem party-specific, also cannot be justified. The response of the Islamabad administration to the PTI rally was also inappropriate in many ways. Blocking off all entry and exit points was unwise and so was the stipulation that the rally had to be held between 4pm to 7pm.
At no point in the country’s history have political events begun and/or ended on time. Why create a restriction knowing that it will likely backfire? We have seen this confrontational approach towards the opposition by various governments over the years and it has never been successful. Frequent arrests of political leaders have also become a regular feature of our weak democracy. It is time both sides calm down and learn to behave like adults. The way things are going, there will be no winners and the country will be the loser.
Mukhtar Ahmed
Karachi
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