Like dharna stories of the past, this sit-in too, fuelled by Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s ire, appears to have lost its steam.

If there’s one thing that remains permanent in our political ecosystem it’s fluctuation in political developments. The Azadi March which started with much political hype, demanding the resignation of the prime minister, evolved into a sit-in in the country’s federal capital. However, despite the initial political muscle flexing by the opposition in a bid to dislodge the government, the alliance of sorts soon fizzled out. Like dharna stories of the past, this sit-in too, fuelled by Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s ire, appears to have lost its steam. While the JUI-F has resolved to continue its agitation across the country, political analysts appear sceptical of its ability to achieve its objective.

There is reason to believe that the opposition may have failed to come out as a stronger force at a point when major leaders of two mainstream political parties are faced with accountability cases. There is also hushed caution over Maulana Fazlur Rehman taking the centre stage as the opposition leader despite the presence of mainstream political parties, such as the Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party, no matter how challenged at the moment. Above all, it appears that there is also concern regarding the degree of uncertainty that comes with making demands that upset an already volatile democratic system like ours. And political forces that have been part of this challenged system are aware of that eventuality. Perhaps the fear regarding a lack of clarity of this current agitation led by the Maulana may just add an altogether new dimension of uncertainty for an opposition which is battling at other fronts. Only time will tell how calculated Maulana’s political (mis)adventure was.