THE sagacious decision of the joint opposition to delay their planned march on Islamabad by a few days to allow peaceful and orderly conduct of the 48th session of the OIC Council of Foreign Minister is a testimony to the fact that even serious and complicated situations can be addressed if saner voices come into action and play their role sincerely.
The moot would take place on March 22-23 and the guests would depart by March 24 and with this in view the opposition has now announced that their caravans from different parts of the country would be entering in Islamabad on March 25 and would stay there for a ‘few days’ – meaning till completion of the parliamentary proceedings on the vote of no-confidence.
PML(Q) leadership, which is known for its politics of reconciliation and national harmony, has strongly appealed to both the government and the opposition to revoke their plans for holding grand power shows in the Federal Capital and that too at the same time as this could lead to confrontation and civil war.
Ch Shujaat Hussain deserves credit for issuing a well-worded statement urging the two sides to cancel their rallies as Pakistan’s current economic and political situation cannot afford this dangerous confrontation as people, crushed under poverty and inflation, are deeply disturbed by the politics of government and opposition rallies.
Shujaat warned that the country’s internal and external enemies could take advantage of the prevailing situation to fulfill their nefarious designs.
He said the opposition’s politics depends on public meetings, but it is not appropriate for the government to do politics of retaliatory rallies.
His sentiments were echoed by Ch Pervez Elahi, who said in a television interview, that the ruling party, which first made the announcement to hold a rally in front of the Parliament House in Islamabad on the eve of voting on the no-confidence motion, should withdraw the plan first and that he (Ch Pervez Elahi) would put pressure on the opposition to follow the suit.
The timely decision of the opposition to readjust their plan for the march has avoided the possibility of any clash with the law-enforcing agencies as it was their duty to maintain security and peace during the mega event.
The opposition has also affirmed that those coming to attend the OIC conference were our honoured guests and it would not indulge in any action that casts a negative impression.
We have been emphasizing in these columns that instead of demonstrating their muscles on streets, both the government and the opposition should follow strictly the constitutional path in respect of no-confidence motion and avoid actions that could deepen polarization and political strife.
While appreciating the lead taken by Chaudhry Brothers, we would urge them to continue their efforts to persuade the government as well as the opposition to cancel their rallies and fight the contest on the floor of the National Assembly.
