SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association)
Things have changed a lot during the last couple of months. More changes are in the offing. Yet the PML-N leadership likes to keep its head buried in the sand. The policy can only aggravate the situation on the ground.
There have been spontaneous protests against the VIP culture. At two different occasions those used to treating the PIA as their personal property were bluntly told by the passengers that this was no more acceptable. A scion of the Sharif family had to cut short his speech in the midst of “Go Nawaz, go” slogans. The slogans followed the PM when he proceeded to New York with a stopover in London. After holding a large meeting in Karachi and a bigger show in Lahore, Imran Khan announced more public meetings. Wherever he will go, he is likely to pull crowds not on account of his oratorical skills which are limited but because he capitalises on the increasing reserve of public discontent.
What the PML-N leadership fails to realise is that the common man is fed up with the status quo which in his eyes is represented by the government. When Imran Khan tells the crowds that the PML-N leaders have taken away millions of dollars outside the country causing impoverishment in Pakistan, they tend to believe him. The PML-N has no counter narrative on the other hand. Many doubt the government’s claim that the PTI protests really caused losses worth billions. The assertion that the PTI can only muster up small gatherings while the PML-N could more than match these leaves the man in the street unimpressed.
The Prime Minister’s remarks at the London press briefing indicate that the PML-N has no sense of urgency. If the party leadership fails to put its act together and is not seen to be acting with dynamism for resolving the problems faced by the masses with out of the box solutions, there is a likelihood of some of its erstwhile supporters in Parliament also calling for mid-term polls.
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