This is apropos a Letter to the Editor titled “A political cul-de-sac” carried by the newspaper yesterday. It is true that the nation is facing a deepening political turmoil in the country owing to a variety of reasons, including the highly controversial general election that took place on Feb 8.

There is little or no doubt about the fact that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been at the receiving end both during pre- and post-election periods. Even the elections of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly yesterday seem to have added to the plight of PTI whose candidates lost mainly because of the fact that their mandate, according to the party, has been stolen on a massive scale.

That the House is unprecedentedly polarized and charged is no secret, a fact that has been very well explained by veteran Pahstoon leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai in his speech yesterday, reinforcing PTI’s narrative.

PTI’s or Sunni Ittehad Council’s Amir Dogar who lost to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N’s) candidate Ayaz Sadiq in the election for the post of Speakership narrated his party’s ongoing ordeal in a highly impressive manner.

Interestingly, his body language did not show that he had lost the election. In my view, the party must not be subjected to any state-sponsored witch-hunt any further. Needless to say, it was deprived of a level-playing field from the day one.

Not allowing it to use its iconic electoral symbol bat, for example, was a step aimed at hurting party’s electoral prospects in a highly effective manner. But the party or the candidates backed by it fared extremely well despite all the odds. No doubt, PTI’s performance is a universal truth.

This is a fact which will never change over period, circumstance, location, and so on. To his detractors’ sheer chagrin, an incarcerated Imran Khan is still not out of history.

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Sheila Qassem Reza (Dubai)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024