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| India-Pakistan |
| Going nowhere |
| 2015-12-03 |
| [NATION.PK] Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... has become the opposition the government wanted: disorderly, one-dimensional and losing momentum. In the last three years, PTI's opposition has sounded more like a dragged election campaign in a post-election hangover. This single dimension opposition has fragmented PTI internally, and damaged its credibility externally. And in the end, the party that had introduced itself as the only hope for change within the democratic system is itself hoping for a new lifeline to restore its momentum. PTI's role as a shadow government has been fairly disappointing. Within a democratic setup, the only way to change the status-quo is methodical opposition on all issues, with due proportion, and on all avenues of public discourse. The singular focus on rigging has neglected the issues of economy, energy, foreign policy, security, and accountability, amongst others. To maintain the legitimacy of its cause, and for the sake of the due process, an effective opposition would have exhausted all platforms, including the parliament, the higher courts, and the media, regardless of its chances of success at each venue. So far, PTI has only exhausted these avenues for election rigging, at the cost of all other issues of public interest. This single point maximalist position has put PTI from the street to the sidewalk. Fittingly, an opposition that claims to be better than the incumbent government, without actually being an effective opposition first, loses its claim to either. |
| Posted by:Fred |