Harbinger of change

[Call for Change]

Harbinger of change

It was still early in the day by Sunday's standards, when a friend called me and asked me to come over to a PTI camp in DHA. I was not sure what exactly I would witness, but when I reached there I saw a handful of young boys, some cars and three half-empty buses. Shortly thereafter, the rather thin caravan embarked towards Minar-e-Pakistan. This modest crowd however, only a couple of hours later, had grown into a long line of buses and vans filled with politically charged Lahoris, jubilant youth riding motorbikes, excited motorists and even a few cyclists. This group alone had grown into thousands by the time it reached the famous Minto Park. One could still not say with certainty whether Minto Park was going to witness a historic day, but a few hours later, people started pouring in from all directions, despite some alleged road blocks at Saggian and other places. By half past five, the crowd had become very large. People were standing, sitting, cheering, screaming and waving PTI and Pakistani flags. PTI claimed that the crowd was as large as half a million, but whatever the size of the crowd was, it was a significantly large gathering, especially compared with the PMLN rally a day before.

PTI's choice of venue seemed risky to many, but it paid off, earning him new credibility overnight.The arrangements were sound. The combination of patriotic songs and the national anthem with the national flag in the backdrop, on the footsteps of the iconic Minar-e-Pakistan, energised the crowd. As far as Imran Khan's speech was concerned, many did not think of it as equally impressive. Although he came up with an elaborate political manifesto ranging from electricity issues to corruption and from terrorism to foreign policy, he did not utter any new thing and shied away from giving a categorical statement on any account.

Keeping aside the theatrical value, one could see that his speech was well calibrated, where he not only kept his strategic options open for future but also picked his battles rather carefully. His speech totally missed out on any mention of MQM and ANP's role in Karachi or for that matter army or even General Musharraf's handling of the problem in FATA, except a few passing remarks about desired impartiality of police to address the Karachi issue, or loss of 35,000 civilian lives in the war against terrorism. He even stopped short of criticising the US all out, when he emphasised that he wanted friendship, but not slavery. To many critics, he may have sounded like a run-of-the-mill politician. But it is clear he is finally gearing up for bigger responsibilities and a more formal place in national politics. His criticism of the PPP and PML-N was milder than usual.

Despite his few direct hits on Zardari for blemishing Bhutto's image and on Hussian Haqqanifor compromising on national interests in his eagerness to please the US, the PPP would still have a reason to celebrate Imran's success, at least partly, because Khan's newfound prominence in Lahore is likely to create a serious dent in Sharifs' vote bank. Some believe that Lahore may be an extrapolation of what is going to happen in other major urban centres of central and northern Punjab, including Sialkot, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Gujranwala.

For the Sharifs, however, Imran has definitely emerged as a potent threat overnight, posing a major challengeto their political hegemony in Punjab, if not in the short run, then definitely by the time the next elections are due.

Whoever is advising the Sharifs on their political strategy made a mistake with a rally just two days before PTI's gathering, and that too in the narrow alleys of Old Lahore.

Many politicians weighing their options and waiting for signals from elsewhere will probably see PTI's grand show of power as an indicator of the changing political mood in Punjab, creating more problems for PMLN that claims a right over Punjab, especially when it is already struggling to retain its image as a national party.

But it is not going to be an easy ride for Imran Khan either. He will have to keep building the momentum. For now, he has kept his options open, after vaguely mentioning possibility of a civil disobedience movement and that too if politicians fail to declare their assets, which they already do, keeping aside their validity and accuracy. It is not essential for him to go for street protests or 'shutting down cities', but he may quickly capitalise on this success and aim for more of such protests to galvanise his supporters and consolidate his success.

Other major urban centres, such as Faisalabad or even Rawalpindi, would be good venues for him to demonstrate his newfound success in Punjab. Moreover, with Mian Azhar and others joining his party, he has already shown his willingness to embrace old and in some cases controversial political elements. If that is the case, he will probably also try to woo other disgruntled yet prominent political personalities such as Sheikh Rashid, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Aitzaz Ahsan.

Last but not the least, he would also need to be clearer on how he intends to deliver on his promises. He has already declared that he would be willing to facilitate an American exit from Afghanistan, which is inline with the new US policy, but on other foreign policy issues such as relations with India and on critical national matters such as corruption, governance and poverty alleviation, he should better come up with a solid and convincing plan.

PTI's historic gathering may not be an end in itself but may prove to be a harbinger of change. For starters, it was neither a sarkari (official), nor karobari (business) or even darbari (courtesan) jalsa, but whether it can be called a 'baidari' (awakening) or not is yet to be seen.



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