The last few days have been utter chaos. The state of our political affairs can not be called stable prior to the assassination attempt on Imran Khan’s life on Thursday evening, but the aftermath of the horrific event has propelled the kind of alarm and insecurity in society that requires some deep introspection by our political leaders and all branches of government.
Maturity is the need of the hour to prevent society from spiralling into crisis. Unfortunately, what is on display, from all factions of government and opposition alike, is anything but that. Workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) took to the streets in several cities of Punjab on Friday to express their indignation over an attempt on their leader Imran Khan’s life. Their grief and outrage at what was such an enormous assault are understandable, but it does not explain why the protestors felt the need to vandalise and destroy public property outside the Governor House on Mall Road, resulting in a traffic jam. Earlier, some PTI activists tried to enter the Governor’s House by scaling the gate and flying the party flags. This kind of unbridled and unregulated kind of response only fans the flames of anxiety and anarchy. Visceral reactions can escalate into unruly mob behaviour swiftly, and the consequences of that could be disastrous.
On the same page, the government and law enforcement appear to have once again not learned the lessons of the past and are not taking the time to understand the gravity of the situation. The police appear to have once again resorted to their usual tactic of tear gas and baton charges to manage the backlash. The government appears to be in denial of how serious an assassination attempt is; this cannot be ignored merely by levelling blame at PTI. We are on a very slippery slope, and the scope for continued and increased violence is immense. Answers must be given and they must be more substantial than “religious fanaticism”.