PAKISTAN Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has now set 22 December as the new deadline for the government to meet his “legitimate demands” including the release of under-trial political prisoners and a judicial probe into May 9 events and Nov 26 crackdown, or else “civil disobedience movement” will be launched. In a post on his X handle, IK described his demands as legitimate and warned that if the government did not implement them by Sunday, the first phase of the civil disobedience movement, ‘boycott of remittances’, will be launched.
Imran Khan has changed his position on the issue a day after one of the party leaders, Latif Khosa explained that the party founder delayed his civil disobedience movement plan at the instance of allies like Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Sardar Akhtar Mengal. Political analysts apprehend that the latest ultimatum has the potential to undermine the possibility of talks between the Government and the PTI as the former made it clear on more than one occasion that it would not engage in dialogue under gun point. There are clear divisions within the party as important personalities like Shah Mahmood Qureshi favour dialogue over confrontation, stressing that Pakistan needs political stability under current circumstances. The PTI leadership has its own reasons to become impatient but there is a general impression that the party is fast losing its options.
The success of the civil disobedience movement as a tool to pressurize the Government is highly doubtful and instead it will put strains on the party workers and sympathizers. It is a shrewd move to make an appeal to overseas Pakistanis not to remit money back home as remittances can be easily withheld for a month or two and the PTI believes its appeal will get favourable response because of its popularity among overseas Pakistanis. As against this, it will be next to impossible for any citizen not to pay utility bills or taxes without inviting the wrath of the State. Political expediency apart, any move aimed at choking remittances, which are considered as life-line for the economy, will bruise the image and reputation of the party. This will be seen as continuity of the policy under which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was asked not to enter into any deal with the Pakistan government. Pakistan and its people are facing economic challenges and it is the responsibility of all parties and their leadership to contribute their share in stabilizing the economy and providing relief to the masses.
