Zardari advised to stay off Qadri, Imran

ISLAMABAD: Following the failed protest show in Lahore on Wednesday, PPP and PTI badly need to change inept script writers as party workers and old guards of these parties are badly disappointed and want their party leaderships to stop following agenda driven scripted politics. All these parties badly need a new script writer or script writers.

A large number of true democrats within PPP believe that a strong opposition is must for democracy but some script writer or writers have damaged the opposition politics so badly that even common people don’t believe in the slogans of opposition parties anymore. The script is clearly the old one. Even a common man on street can easily understand the script as there is no change whatsoever in basic content of the plot being followed by Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf have been doing right now or were doing in past.

Thousands of empty chairs in Chairing Cross, Lahore on Wednesday were clearly demanding from these political parties to go for a new script writer with some abilities and innovation. The old script writer or the script writers have exposed the decreasing popularity of opposition in such a little time that there are many within PPP who believe that their leadership has been misused. These old guards of the PPP even allege that either script writers want to discredit the whole political system or are doing things in connivance with the ruling PML-N to completely damage their party politics. Apparently, Asif Ali Zardari is following the script of the same script writer or maybe he is following some new script writer. Whatever, true democrats in his party believe that following scripted politics has further damaged the already drowning popularity of the party in Punjab and other parts of the country. They say that script writers have left them in the lurch and exposed their weaknesses so early that the party will face worst of the political scenarios in coming days. On the other hand, Bilwal Bhutto Zardari, the chairman of PPP, openly opposed the language used during the Wednesday’s scripted protest and held that PPP will always stand by Parliament and for its supremacy.

Sheikh Rashid, head of a one-man party, who is known to always follow the script simply read out the old script apparently without changing a single word during his protest speech though Rashid is known for his creative and sharp sentences and wittiness. He is a political guru of PTI chief Imran Khan and apparently making him to follow the script in letter and spirit. PTI which enjoys huge popularity in many parts of the country urgently need services of a new script writer as unlike PPP it doesn’t have experienced a lot of workers and local leaders. Blindly following the same script is badly damaging this new but a popular and a strong party. PTI needs to go to the extent of issuing advertisements to hire some exceptionally good and innovative script writers who can at least change worn-out, stale, and absurd sentences in the speeches and press conferences of the party chief.

PAT chief Tahirul Qadri who properly started following scripted politics in 2012 some months before the 2013 general elections. Only a few months ago, these players, now following the same script were abusing one another. The statements of Tahirul Qadri alleging PPP chief Asif Ali Zardari of committing huge corruption and taking billions abroad are on the record. The allegations of PTI chief Imran Khan against Mr Zardari are also known to all and sundry. Imran continued to hold PPP chief as the most corrupt person in the country until recently. PPP leaders, including Mr Zardari, level serious allegations against Imran Khan. Then came the latest announcement of PAT chief Tahirul Qadri last week that PPP will be standing on his right and PTI will be on his left during the Wednesday protest. Any citizen can easily understand that some script writer or writers have made them stand in one line and follow the same script.

The worst thing that happened is the disappointment of the PPP workers and the some senior leaders who strongly believe in democracy and the supremacy of Parliament as PPP historically never followed the politics of script writers. The script writers have badly disrepute the only political party of the country which was never used in the hands of agenda making forces or the script writers. The views which PPP old guard have started to share within party circles clearly suggest that Mr Zardari will have to give up his policy of following scripts and will have to return to the politics of upholding democratic principles.

Some within PPP claim that Mr Zardari himself is a true democrat and can never allow anyone the discredit the respect and dignity of the institution of Parliament. Only time will prove this assertion.

The worst abusing of the democratic institutions and Parliament during the Wednesday protest in presence of the top leaders of the PPP has frustrated the party as a whole.

Discrediting the politicians and Parliament has always been a basic feature of the script. Strangely, the political parties followed the same old script during Wednesday protest which may have been scripted by different script writers. The same badly failed and this shows that all these parties need to the change the script writer if they want to attain people’s attention and regain their popularity.

It was apparent that whatever was being done or said during the Wednesday protest was under duress and was a badly scripted drama. The abusing and cursing the supreme most institution in any democracy, Parliament, has shocked many people but the PML-N is happy that its opponents are so badly exposed. In Parliament, on Thursday, all political forces joined hands to condemn the Wednesday protest and abusive language used against the most respected democratic institution.

After the Wednesday protest, PTI chief remained stick to his words “Parliament par lanat” (curse on Parliament) and went to the extent that ‘lanat’ was a soft word for Parliament. However, on the other hand, pressure is mounting on the PPP chief from within the party ranks to give up scripted politics, avoid Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan and remain stick to the golden democratic principles the PPP followed throughout its 50 years history.