The week of all hyped political shows-of-power finally came to an electrifying end with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s massive Jalsa in the heart of Punjab on Sunday.
Led by the heads of PML-N and PTI respectively, the rally and Jalsa contained mediocre speeches and may seem to be just pre-2013 election jockeying but their implications yield greater implications and establish substantial modifications in Pakistan‘s national, political and social landscape, especially the latter’s.
(Regardless of the drastically differing views and opinions the nation holds when it comes to Khan Sb)
With estimations of the number of those who attended varying from 150,000 to 500,00, PTI’s Jalsa was undeniably a befitting announcement of its entrance into mainstream politics and to put it aptly, the birth of Imran Khan, the politician.
Imran Khan’s Jalsa succeeded in mobilizing the middle class, upper middle class and the youth to come out of their comfort zones, drawing rooms and into the field, with sheer zeal and discipline, to take part in the political process of the country; something which is imperative for the democratic structuring of Pakistan thus, for the development and advance of the democratic environment too.
Nadeem F. Paracha writes in his article:
‘Becoming a political participant through the democratic process edges out the fanciful Utopianism that usually overtakes and muddles the thinking of those who want to remain outside this process in the name of revolution or whatever. The result of such a disposition is mere frustration and eventual isolation from ground realities turning the person into a mindless, babbling conspiracy theorist or a blob of reactionary emotions.’
One may attribute the pleasantly surprising turnout of these people to their complete and utter disillusionment and disenchantment with the two main tried-and-tested parties, PML-N and PPP against whom they view Imran Khan and his party, as the only alternative to rule and take Pakistan forward.
While overuse of the word ‘Inquilab’ (revolution) and ‘Tabdeeli’ (change) does not actualize them, a spark has already been lit by the populist event which evoked a fresh sense among all, those who attended it and those who watched through the media, of being active participants in the next elections and using their votes as the channel for a change.
The day right after the Jalsa, groups thronged to the Office of Election Commission in Lahore and around Pakistan, to register themselves and their families to verify themselves, many of whom have never voted or deemed voting to be an act of significance, as voters or to get registered as ones.
Outside the Lahore Office of ECP, the diverse range of parked vehicles, each associated with a different class, attested to the scope of influence emanating from the event.
This particular surge in the rush of voter-registration is also the result of statements from political parties (which comes after their practice of dismissing PTI as an important or worthy party to be even discussed by stating its followers are all ensconced in their air-conditioned rooms in front of their laptops or computers; ’Facebook warriors/supporters’) questioning PTI’s ability to translate the number of supporters at their Jalsa into votes in the next elections. To prove wrong their delectable skepticism of the capacity of PTI Supporters to vote for their party, the supporters of other parties who were a part of this rush and the PTI supporters abandoned their apathy in pursuit of making their voice and choice count through their votes in the forthcoming elections.
The ECP Officials in Punjab had also been increasingly disobliging after the Jalsa, which might be ascribed to the instructions given under intense insecurity by the Provincial Government.
A revival of this activity is a betoken of the restored faith in people related to the system of democracy and their vigor to strengthen it; a manifestation of the hope the event has permeated people with.
In the political arena, PTI’s Jalsa which surpassed PML-N’s two-days-earlier held rally in attendance of genuine supporters, luster and in magnitude of all that mattered- sent jolts of shock to them by conducting an entirely triumphant event at what is, the core of their power.
The Jalsa clearly denoted, increased and accentuated the cracks of division in PML-N’s urban vote bank in Punjab; evincing a snap or a fracture in their prepotency and dominance with its origins in Lahore, auguring well for both PTI and PPP.
Although, PTI’s stupendous Jalsa should push all parties in Government or in Pakistan to a rouse from complacency
PML-N’s apprehensions connected with the rise of PTI are well-grounded if the reported registration of 3 crore new voters, of the chunk of which comprise much youth – generally, which is a quarter of the population amongst which Imran Khan has an immeasurable clout, is taken into consideration.
While it is certainly debatable whether PTI can sweep the next elections or even bag enough seats to form the provincial government in Punjab in 2013, as seen in retrospect; late Benazir Bhutto’s Jalsa in Lahore in 1986 was the biggest in the city’s history yet the 1988 Elections resulted in PML-N being the recipient of a notable slice of the seats in Punjab, and the country after PPP, (They were supported by the Establishment as part of the IJI to counter PPP, which also makes that comparable to the state of affairs currently involving PTI and PML-N).
Not to mention, PTI’s vote bank centers around urban areas and has not, yet, reached rural areas (where around 60% to 70% of Pakistanis live) where support for PML-N is concentrated. PTI will have to toil to break through the entrenched voter loyalties and political demographics of Punjab and Pakistan.
Nonetheless, PTI has now self-validated and elevated its position to of a party, that can not be deemed nickel and dime or bundled into oblivion, and in all that followed on at the Jalsa, the victor was no party but the cultivation of the democracy and the democratic culture in Pakistan.
~ Hafsa Khawaja
