Shah Mehmood Qureshi hints at end of dharna... Analysis of reasons and repercussions.

[Chak Bamu]

Just saw live interview of Shah Mehmood Qureshi on TV. He said that the "Azadi Container" will travel to various cities in Punjab and then go to Sindh.

He did not say anything about dharna, but I suppose this would effectively end this idiocy and faux pas by PTI. The strategy seems to be that PTI leadership will shift the focus to rallies and then quietly end the dharna.

Asad Kharal - a dharna-supporting journalist having close links with agencies has made the following tweet about TuQ:

Asad Kharal ‏@AsadKharal
#AnderKiBaat : A Major local #Donor ...Now also stop the financing for #IngilabMarch @TUQ4Revolution due to fear of exposing & repercussions

Asad Kharal ‏@AsadKharal
From July 15 to September 15 @MinhajulQuran's 8 accounts received Rs90 million , while during the same period Rs220 million withdrawn

Anyone can guess what would happen next.... some noise, some music, and an end without so much as a whimper. Therefore naturally question arises: what was accomplished apart from anarchy, idiocy, violence, and economic set-back to Pakistan's economy?

I predicted that this dharna thing would not change status quo and that nothing would happen to Nawaz Sharif.

Some might think of the end of dharna politics as a watershed moment and try to find some sort of silver lining - but I doubt if there is any positive that can be found in a purely negative activity. On another thread I made a post:
"After the full-fledge propaganda chorus of 'jangla bus', 'Kha gaye, Pee gaye', 'why waste money on mega-projects', and then Dharna drama, what face does PTI have to show? I have been at pains to point out that PTI politics has taken disastrous turns at every step. My euphoria over PTI's inroads and show of strength subsided a while back when I saw their dedication to pursuit of power in complete disregard to the means employed or the cost to Pakistan's economy.

Call PML-N what you will, they absolutely know the typical Pakistani mind-set that sees completed projects as sign of progress, and not a consistent improvement in HDI (Human Development Indicators). This is unfortunate, but this is reality. There is another dynamic of greater Urban political awakening. This is one of the reasons why PTI has such support in cities, and conversely it is also why PML-N likes to cater to this section of population. Greater Urbanization is inevitable in Pakistan and therefore development must precede it.

One is surprised to see a distortion whereby PML-N now has more support among the poorer sections in cities while PTI voters tend to be from upper classes. (Middle & upper middle class). Earlier it was rather simple in that PPP would have support among urban poor and PML would have support from higher classes. I saw this transformation in 2009 with my own eyes as I was the part of mega-crowd that brought Governor rule in Punjab to its knees and re-instated the ousted judges of Supreme Court. I was surprised and realized that PML-N had solid support among the urban poor.

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Irony of ironies - PTI that had been successful in attracting educated & more well-off voters (at least in Punjab and Karachi) feels compelled to start a mega-project that would subsidize efficient transport to be used mostly by urban poor in Peshawar. Have they realized what PML-N knew all along?

In the next election or two, urban poor would hold the key to government."

Source: PTI approves Peshawar Metro | Page 2

Naturally, a question arises: If PTI had not done itself a disfavor of blundering into dharna politics, what could it have done instead? Would PML-N's federal government be prepared to extend any support for any projects in KPK after all this dharna etc.? Should it? I can see a hint of blame game arising out of this situation. I hope PML-N takes the higher road.

@Aether , @Oscar , @Horus , @AgNoStiC MuSliM , @xyxmt , @ice_man , @Spring Onion , @Manticore , @blain2 , @Joe Shearer , @cb4 , @JonAsad , @Fracker , @faisal6309 , @TheFlyingPretzel , @balixd , @Syed.Ali.Haider , @Slav Defence , @SBD-3 , @farhan_9909 , @Jazzbot , @Mugwop , @nair , @Dillinger, @Devil Soul , @Counter-Errorist , @WebMaster , @Secur , @Irfan Baloch , @WishLivePak , @Meengla , @scorpionx , @genmirajborgza786 , @syedali73 , @Devil Soul , @Mav3rick , @orangzaib , @saiyan0321 , @Bratva , @Major Sam , @Ghareeb_Da_Baal , @FaujHistorian , @S.U.R.B.

Source: 10 Mistakes of Imran Khan in handling PTI

 

[RescueRanger]

The "analysis kera" burrows deep into he minds of Pakistani intellectuals these days. Analysis ker ker key Islamabad institute for strategic studies key library bhar dee magar on ground kam khak motti nahi keya. Do the world a favour, forget the "analysis" learn to read beyond the common script.

 

[Dubious]

The "analysis kera" burrows deep into he minds of Pakistani intellectuals these days. Analysis ker ker key Islamabad institute for strategic studies key library bhar dee magar on ground kam khak motti nahi keya. Do the world a favour, forget the "analysis" learn to read beyond the common script.

totally agreed!!!

People forget that world and the people BOTH are dynamic and you cant exactly make an equation 100% fit the line that the situation is initially travelling on!

 

[Chak Bamu]

The "analysis kera" burrows deep into he minds of Pakistani intellectuals these days. Analysis ker ker key Islamabad institute for strategic studies key library bhar dee magar on ground kam khak motti nahi keya. Do the world a favour, forget the "analysis" learn to read beyond the common script.

Un-interesting non-perspective. Please tell me where I am going wrong. Help me 'learn to read beyond the common script'.

 

[RescueRanger]

That I can't help with sian. That is something that comes with and forgive me for using a desi mohavra "dhakka Khana" aur "papar bailna". Not un interesting, more like preaching to the converted.

 

[Chak Bamu]

That I can't help with sian. That is something that comes with and forgive me for using a desi mohavra "dhakka Khana" aur "papar bailna". Not un interesting, more like preaching to the converted.

Well then I should be a quick learner since I qualify on both counts more than anyone else on this forum. I have had to shut down my business and take up a job in corporate sector. I've lost a lot - but I do not let that cloud my judgment. That is a valuable quality. I suggest you try that too.

 

[VCheng]

Naturally, a question arises: If PTI had not done itself a disfavor of blundering into dharna politics, what could it have done instead? Would PML-N's federal government be prepared to extend any support for any projects in KPK after all this dharna etc.? Should it? I can see a hint of blame game arising out of this situation. I hope PML-N takes the higher road.

If there is anything good to come out of all this this, it is the awakening of the educated middle class to participate in politics and come out in support of their demands and candidates. The traditional politicians rely on the conventional ways of garnering support from the public they know very well, mainly rural or uneducated. If PTI can build on this spark, it may do much better in the next elections, and then Pakistan would have truly set itself on a path to a robust political process.

However, until the next elections, it will be politics as usual, because it is too much to hope that PMLN will learn any new tricks or lessons with what has happened. The main issues will continue to be economic: energy, loans, inflation. How much misery these will cause will determine how short the fuse of the public will be in putting up with the government.

Of course, all of this assumes that the Army will not succumb to the ever present temptation to take matters into its own hands openly.

 

[ajpirzada]

here is my take:-

Khursheed Shah has now started to talk about the mid-term polls. Aitzaz Ahsan has advised the PM to avoid public gatherings. Every other party has switched to the Jalsa mode as if elections are just around the corner. There is a panic attack in all political circles as if they are missing to get onto this bandwagon. There is a fear that PTI may end up eating all of the cake. PMLN ministers now stand confined to their local circles. If the criterion of success was to undermine the govt, it has been achieved. If the criterion was to build an opinion for mid-term polls (or re-election), it has been achieved. If the criterion was to convince the people of ECP's failures, it has also been achieved. Politics is not based on facts but on perceptions. And the perception for everything which PTI wanted to build via the medium of Judicial Commission has already been built. Little is left other than the resignation of the PM or the official fall of the govt.

However, all this has little value in my eyes. For me the biggest achievement is the building of an alternate narrative. PTI has raised the narrative to a level which is hard to reach by these family led fiefdoms ruling us for last few decades. IK is not telling the people that he'll give them electricity. Instead, he is selling them accountability, power and freedom. He is not selling them reduced inflation, less crime and no bomb blasts, but he is selling them institutional professionalism achieved through zero political interference. He is no longer selling the Shariah of the right and the Secularism of the left, rather he has taken the game to what exactly are the desired objectives of any of these governing systems? And these are equality, justice and freedom! He has replaced the ideology debate with what the end objectives should be! The more the people buy what he is selling, the more difficult it becomes for the Status Quo to compete. This Dharna has forced the people to reconsider what they really want. Do they want what PTI is selling? or do they want to stick with the old basket of goods?

To be precise, the initial agenda of this Dharna was nothing comparable to what it ended up achieving. PTI has realised this! IK now knows that it is not the resignation which should be the prime objective but rather it should be the selling of this narrative to as many as possible. The more he convinces this nation that the existing exchange between the Status Quo and the people stands redundant, the more advantage PTI will have in the elections. However, PTI must not forget that only the one sitting on a high wall risks a great fall!

 

[Chak Bamu]

here is my take:-

Khursheed Shah has now started to talk about the mid-term polls. Aitzaz Ahsan has advised the PM to avoid public gatherings. Every other party has switched to the Jalsa mode as if elections are just around the corner. There is a panic attack in all political circles as if they are missing to get onto this bandwagon. There is a fear that PTI may end up eating all of the cake. PMLN ministers now stand confined to their local circles. If the criterion of success was to undermine the govt, it has been achieved. If the criterion was to build an opinion for mid-term polls (or re-election), it has been achieved. If the criterion was to convince the people of ECP's failures, it has also been achieved. Politics is not based on facts but on perceptions. And the perception for everything which PTI wanted to build via the medium of Judicial Commission has already been built. Little is left other than the resignation of the PM or the official fall of the govt.

However, all this has little value in my eyes. For me the biggest achievement is the building of an alternate narrative. PTI has raised the narrative to a level which is hard to reach by these family led fiefdoms ruling us for last few decades. IK is not telling the people that he'll give them electricity. Instead, he is selling them accountability, power and freedom. He is not selling them reduced inflation, less crime and no bomb blasts, but he is selling them institutional professionalism achieved through zero political interference. He is no longer selling the Shariah of the right and the Secularism of the left, rather he has taken the game to what exactly are the desired objectives of any of these governing systems? And these are equality, justice and freedom! He has replaced the ideology debate with what the end objectives should be! The more the people buy what he is selling, the more difficult it becomes for the Status Quo to compete. This Dharna has forced the people to reconsider what they really want. Do they want what PTI is selling? or do they want to stick with the old basket of goods?

To be precise, the initial agenda of this Dharna was nothing comparable to what it ended up achieving. PTI has realised this! IK now knows that it is not the resignation which should be the prime objective but rather it should be the selling of this narrative to as many as possible. The more he convinces this nation that the existing exchange between the Status Quo and the people stands redundant, the more advantage PTI will have in the elections. However, PTI must not forget that only the one sitting on a high wall risks a great fall!

I do not have time to reply in detail. But it is a case of "much ado about nothing". IK is gunning for PPP and see how they react. Anything but mid-term elections.

You are reading it the way you want it.

I am indifferent to whoever comes to power via elections next (apart from PPP that is), as long as they are held in 2018. This IMV is best for our country.

 

[ajpirzada]

I do not have time to reply in detail. But it is a case of "much ado about nothing". IK is gunning for PPP and see how they react. Anything but mid-term elections.

You are reading it the way you want it.

I am indifferent to whoever comes to power via elections next (apart from PPP that is), as long as they are held in 2018. This IMV is best for our country.

we all read the facts in different ways. nothing odd about our disagreement