WEST IS EAST!

Pakistan has always been a place of contradictions. Never more than in the last three years, since Imran Khan’s government was ousted and the establishment installed a puppet arrangement. The head of the unelected forces calls the shots in policy, political, and judicial matters, and the civilian government bends over backwards to throw its weight behind these actions that have essentially turned the country into a totalitarian state.

While draconian laws have been passed to discourage dissent and actions taken swiftly to suppress any form of independent views, a major stumbling block remains. The PTI and its allies continue to pose an overwhelming challenge, despite the bluster of Talal Chaudhry, Ata Tarar, and Mohsin Naqvi. Mortally afraid of the PTI’s long march to Islamabad, the capital was transformed into a container city, with containers with spikes along their sides and roofs, and barricades set up to prevent the marchers from entering.

It has been a week since the long march was initiated on October 4, and although both the government and the PTI came to the negotiating table, the talks stalled. The reasons are easy to understand. The sticking points were primarily two: a meeting with Imran Khan and his proper medical treatment, and the involvement of the KP government and its allies in the province’s counterterrorism policy and actions. Instead of allowing Imran Khan to meet his party leaders and his family, the latter have been detained and kept under arrest for over two weeks. It is no rocket science to understand that terrorism cannot be eliminated through kinetic operations alone and that the input of community leaders is key to a stable and lasting peace in troubled areas.

The talks ended without agreement: the government continues shoring up Islamabad’s defence, and the PTI continues its long march through KP. For now, the PTI is ready to negotiate but does not believe the government wants to talk. Hence, the dual strategy is to mobilise on the streets and offer dialogue.

The real reason behind the government’s unbending attitude is the hatred, rancour, and animosity that both government members and the establishment bear against Imran Khan. In December 2025, a press conference laid bare the vitriol directed at Imran Khan. The latter was abused ad nauseam, as the entire press conference turned into a tirade against Khan. As long as the current establishment setup remains, the confrontation between the PTI and the powers that be will continue.

It is a pity: this nation is to be pitied where 48% of the poorest in the world live and where a Chief Minister buys a plane worth millions of dollars and travels in the same for personal reasons. Where poor children work as domestic workers in the homes of the rich, while parliamentarians reward themselves with salary raises of hundreds of percent and perks for life. Where dissent is met with enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and sentences of life imprisonment. And, where globally the country is hailed as a peacemaker, while at home it shies away from dialogue, negotiations, and compromise.

As I was writing, the news broke that the KP government has been removed, a state of emergency has been declared, and governor rule has been established. In other words, the final nail in the coffin of democracy has been hammered. The will of the people of KP has been set aside, and, in typical high-handedness, the federal government has taken over. The people’s rights have been dismissed. The Chief Minister of KP, who was leading the long march, has been taken into custody, recent developments are that he, along with four others, has been charged with terrorism in the May 9, 2025 riots.

The real reason behind the government’s unbending attitude is the hatred, rancour, and animosity that both government members and the establishment bear against Khan

There is little that remains to be said except a lament over the destinies of Pakistanis. After operations in Balochistan and AJK, the establishment has shown its utter disregard for the Constitution. Government spokespersons are trying to portray the PTI as having links to the TTP, possibly to push for a ban on the party. If this happens, all hell shall break loose. Perhaps then people will realise that if they stay at home, fearing the state’s long arm, they are unlikely to be safe. It will be better for them to spill out on the streets even when threatened with guns and arrests. Even now, anger among people is palpable, but leaders who could have mobilised protests are behind bars, and those who remain lack the charisma and far-reaching voice to galvanise and turn that anger into action. The media has been muzzled, and no news of the PTI is being aired, although some lawyers’ associations and civil society groups have formally condemned the government’s actions.

And to think that we were really and seriously thinking that a reconciliation could have been a possibility! Instead, we have a situation that reminds us of 1971, when the Awami League was banned, and the operation to shoot and kill its supporters was put into place. There was no social media then to relay facts to the people of West Pakistan, but today we have active social media that is able to do so, despite laws that can arrest and sentence activists merely on the basis of tweets. One can only hope the people of this country will now rise as one against the mighty establishment and demand their rights under the Constitution.