Just been daydreaming: “if the repercussions of one’s action would have shown him antecedent to his act, how would have this world changed”? ….. What if, the people were clairvoyant? If any such superpower had existed, would it have also honed our politician’s prescience so that they can preempt their impotence? ….. Who knows!
It’s just an imaginary thing, so we’ll move to where we live in, the pragmatic and realistic world. We can have our other ways to surmise the future, by brooding in our past, and Ispo fact, I don’t believe any of such prowess would have mitigated our politicians’ destiny for the nation. Just because, we ought to have our heads in the sand and without any compunction for the wrongs done in our history, to do those wrongs, rights in the future. But in the realm of Pakistan’s today’s politics, any such lavishing quality would definitely have guided PMLN’s lingering politics to at least, a more promising standing, than of now.
Imagine a party under the auspices of establishment in Pakistan, unable to stamp its authority in the election results, fluffed to notch near probable numbers to be the most favorite contenders to form a government alone, barring the transparency and integrity of the elections, which has plumbed to its depths this time, how surreal would be that of a thought? If you are acquainted with PMLN’s stature as a political party, and the establishment’s explicit book of political engineering in this country, you’d be flabbergasted to ask, “How could that even be possible?”
“PMLN’s trounce in this election is a recalcitrance from the people, not against a single party, but against a narrative, against a system, and against an ideology, that election is all about “qubooliyat” (acceptance) of the untouchables, rather than “maqbooliyat” (popularity) among the people.”
But the matter of fact is, PMLN’s popularity graph hasn’t nosedived in an event or so, that led to this catastrophic trounce for them in the elections of 2024. And this “how” heralds a series of leadership’s persisting error of judgements along with its political opportunism, that accrued, since the preponderant event of Imran Khan’s ouster as Pakistan’s prime minister, courtesy of the no-confidence motion against him.
At first, PMLN’s formation of PDM government after IK’s dismissal was an emblem of political wheeling and dealing, turning out to be an otiose bargaining for PMLN, which was shouldering the most burden of it. Other then dethroning IK, PMLN couldn’t bring them back, any propitious fortune to surpass Khan’s political stature. In fact, the inflation, price hikes, and the economic crisis, made it even worrisome for their party to alleviate the people’s concerns. The deal though brought them back in the power for an ephemeral tenure, but the exorbitant political cost of it has been paid by PMLN.
Other then that, the “power politics” would be the epithet that was among the display in the project PDM. Though, not a new script in the town, but history reverberating makes an even tumultuous effect of the past. The PTI (by then, being the king slayer party), was seen to be demolished as per the script, and political victimization was at its heyday. There was everything to offer for everyone, but there was nothing to offer for the people & this country’s democracy. While making sure, PMLN has the last laugh deploying the power politics, the tactical book of establishment couldn’t be able to fob off the people, with its articulate shenanigans.
From “Vote Ko Izzat Do” and “selected” to dusting off this narrative and being engineered as the new selected ones, PMLN proved itself to be cut from the same cloth of the house of power politics. It just made the people unravel the art of, “never say never” in politics, as it is the game of possibilities. PMLN though got much of the helping hand from the shadows of the power to be, but the mutilation was far more than abating, the resistance against which couldn’t even be assuaged by PMLN’s vote puller, Nawaz Sharif.
Though, being in the government, PMLN hasn’t have scant numbers to enjoy the leeway of policy making alone and that would be a paralysis of decision-making. It has to be the PPP, and others, whom they hope to show staunch support for them to head long in this race. PMLN has been buried under the same crypt, the digging of which they’ve done against PTI, and the next to follow them would face the same ramifications, planting their fidelity to establishment. PMLN’s trounce in this election is a recalcitrance from the people, not against a single party, but against a narrative, against a system, and against an ideology, that election is all about “qubooliyat” (acceptance) of the untouchables, rather than “maqbooliyat” (popularity) among the people.
Perhaps, PMLN doesn’t have much viable options for itself to set its party to train. Evaluating the constraint numbers, they have in the federal government, and the cumbersome challenges the country has been through, it could end up baying at the moon when it’s over for them. But if there’s anything they can do about it, is to become a party, that has the people’s mandate and will to deliver themselves longevity. It’s what our past recommends us, any government with a questionable mandate has been pink-slipped the same manner, it was brought with the aid of establishment.
