Is PTI Helping or Hurting Pakistan?

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by former World Cup winning Captain Mr. Imran Khan is currently holding, what their leader believes, is a historical sit-in in the country’s capital to demand the incumbent Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, and his brother, Chief Minister Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif’s resignation from government.

The ‘Azadi March’ which reached Islamabad shortly after independence day has, according to the party leaders, a massive following comprised of the citizens of Pakistan, all of whom want change and the incumbent Prime Minister and Chief Minister to resign.

In response to the march, the government had erected barriers, placed containers and allegedly blocked entry points into Islamabad. PTI workers and supported also complained of harassment and obstacles being deliberately placed in their way as they moved towards the capital.

However, the government’s stand has officially been of cooperation and freedom of speech, allowing both PTI and PAT to stage their protests within the capital.

Since the sit-in started, people of Pakistan and members of PTI have been expecting big changes, as promised by Mr. Imran Khan. Instead, what they recently heard their leader say was something no one expected. He announced a civil disobedience movement, and stated that neither he nor his supports shall be paying any taxes or utility bills. He even asked the business community to refrain from paying any sales tax to this government.

The question is, is a country like Pakistan ready for such steps? Can the people realistically abide by a civil disobedience movement? Who does this movement hurt the most – the incumbent government or the state of Pakistan?

The country, as mentioned repeatedly by Mr. Khan, is already in debt, and tax evasion is rampant. If the people of Pakistan start a civil disobedience movement, is Mr. Khan confident he can bring them back to order later on?

Due to the march offices have been closed, schools and educational institutions have been given extended leaves, the stock market is suffering from major losses, the international community is questioning the country’s ability to repay its loans and people are looking towards the army warily, wondering if another martial law is likely.

Mr. Khan is still adamant that there will be no deal with the existing government and that the parliament itself has admitted to there being around 60-70 thousand unaccountable votes. The PTI’s demands are clear and Mr. Khan is not ready to accept anything short of the incumbent Prime Minister’s removal from office.

However, PTI’s followers, a lot of whom have come from other cities, have travelled all the way only to be disappointed by their leader’s final stance. If you look at social media, there is a lot of criticism on Mr. Khan’s recent statements as well.

#PTI worker AHSAN reached Islamabad from DG Khan covering 1000 KM on his Cycle. Started on 7th Aug #AzadiMarchPTI 🙂 pic.twitter.com/CPytGDqGQn

— Hunain_M *_* (@Hunain_6750) August 10, 2014

Amazing Read from a passionate #PTI Supporter “You have let us down Mr Khan” http://t.co/RNtiFAtGIK

— Faisal Subzwari (@faisalsubzwari) August 19, 2014

#PTI activists who had gone from UK to attend Dherna have booked return tickets for Monday morning. Hugely disappointed at what IK did

— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaGeoNews) August 17, 2014

On the other hand, the current government’s policy of wait and see has also been criticized. Analysts and people believe had the current government been more responsive to PTI’s rather moderate demands early on, today they wouldn’t be at such a point.

As mentioned by several political analysts, it seems like both Mr. Imran Khan and Mr. Nawaz Sharif have their own differences and ultimately it is the country and the people who will suffer. Most people believe if Mr. Imran Khan had to simply announce a civil disobedience movement (a decision his own workers have distanced themselves from), he could have done without having dragged so many people with him, who are now forced to stay in Islamabad.

Has PTI made the right move? Dragging the country into political turmoil, risking the derailment of democracy, especially in light of international affairs, where Pakistan is already under scrutiny, both financially and politically. Will this movement truly usher in a new era for Pakistan or push it further down the spiral?

What do you think? Is the PTI’s stance valid? Do you agree with the way Mr. Imran Khan has led the ‘Azadi March’? Do you support the view that the Prime Minister should resign immediately or are you favoring the PAT movement instead?

Please share your views and opinions with us by commenting below.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=47606

Posted by Web Desk on Aug 19 2014. Filed under Latest News, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.