There is no doubt that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi is an astute and experienced politician. The way he has conducted himself following his release from prison amply suggests that he is not quitting the party or jumping ship.
Moreover, he is not abandoning or foresaking the party leadership. His and his son’s arrests are likely to raise the political profile of the Qureshi political clan in southern Punjab significantly.
Although he has shown no quarter for those PTI workers who have been allegedly found involved in the May 9 violence, he has voiced very strong support for those who are innocent and have been, according to him, unjustly and unfairly implicated by the caretaker Punjab government in cases of terrorism, sedition, arson and what not.
This is, perhaps, the right approach to the post-May 9 situation, so to speak, amid withering of his party on an unimaginable scale.
Narrating his ‘plight’, Qureshi seems to have taken full advantage of his position of a caretaker of one of the greatest Sufi shrines of subcontinent by describing his hometown, Multan, as “Madinatul Auolia” (the city of saints) in order to send his message across in a meaningful way. His demeanor, which is strongly characterized by shrewdness and enviable political acumen, can help PTI chairman Imran Khan articulate a prudent approach to politics ahead of the likely upcoming general election.
Shahid Tirmizi (Karachi)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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