The violence that ensued following the defiance of Section 144 in Lahore on Wednesday by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters and use of brute force by police against them has to be a matter of grave concern for the government and Opposition alike.
The clashes between ‘notorious’ Punjab police and the supporters of PTI that resulted in the death of one PTI worker and injuries to several others, including some policemen, have shocked the entire nation, ostensibly forcing PTI chairman Imran Khan to postpone his election campaign indefinitely.
Teargassing, lathi-charge and physical scuffles between PTI workers and police personnel characterized the ugly scenes in Lahore’s Zaman Park neighborhood that had been virtually turned into a battlefield by the ‘warring’ parties.
Live broadcast of violent clashes by television channels fully depicted the ugliness of this incident, an incident that will not augur well for the prospects of peaceful holding or conduct of elections in Punjab scheduled for next month.
The incumbent government’s overt reluctance towards elections in Punjab and elsewhere is very much on display. The government is therefore primarily responsible for whatever happened in Punjab’s capital on that eventful and sad day.
Moreover, the government has deliberately upped the ante against Imran Khan who has been rated by a credible survey as country’s ‘most popular leader’ only recently. Postponing election campaign by Imran Khan is a wise move.
This will help him take stock of the situation, given the fact that he has been facing, according to his deputy Asad Umar, as many as 76 cases, including the Toshakhana case that has posed a serious challenge to his credibility as an honest and upright politician.
Moreover, he seems to be still nursing his injuries that he received during an attempt on his life in Punjab’s Wazirabad a few months ago. He’s now therefore required to exercise more caution than before.
Syeda Fatima Kausar (Lahore)
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