Passage # 32 03.11.2020
Several aspects of a fast-changing political situation confront the country with the specter of growing instability and a slew of detrimental consequences. There are at least five features of the fraught political landscape creating uncertainty about the future at a time when both internal and external challenges abound. The interplay between them risks making the situation more volatile and precarious.
One, there is no let-up in the confrontation between the government and
opposition or easing in the war of words between them. The acerbic rhetoric being
used against each other is continuing to inject a toxic element in the overall
environment. In the battle of pressers each side is making incendiary
accusations against its opponents. Parliamentary proceedings offer the
unedifying spectacle of harsh invective being exchanged with both sides calling
the other traitors.
Two, opposition unity has been cemented by the government`s rhetoric and
actions. What is now an Imran Khan VS the Rest line-up, 11 Pakistan Democratic Movement
parties are arrayed against the government with the opposition alliance
representing a wide national spectrum. The PTI government`s political challenge
is compounded by less than explicit support from its erstwhile coalition
allies, conspicuous by their virtual silence on the government-opposition
conflict.
The third aspect and related to the second, polarization is sharpening with the
middle ground being eliminated in the country`s politics. The trust deficit
between the political adversaries has so widened that occasional but much
needed cooperation even on issues of common interest and national importance is
becoming rarer.
Four, the establishment is being sucked into the political game despite its
stated desire to stay away from it. The opposition`s strategy is to raise the
costs of what it believes is the establishment`s partisan role while the government,
in repeatedly claiming the army`s backing, is unintentionally creating the same
effect making the establishment central in the political tussle and media
debate.
