Not only March came early this year, it was a bit longer too, along with Political Suicidal Madness that brought turmoil complicated by Election-Year factors. However, the "D-Square" did not turn into "Tahrir Square". And so the dream, heady and powerful while it lasted, had to come to an end.
It was not to be, not because the people of the city were cruel but because we desired to die (کجھ سانو مرن دا شوق وی سی), i.e. even within a Bullet and Bomb Proof Container. Those non-cruel but still indifferent people might have paid heed to the words but they were not sufficiently moved to turn the words into action.
The obstacles of the Federal and Punjab Governments notwithstanding, the Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran’s "Long March" came nowhere near the "Million" mark claimed by it Chief Sheikh-ul-Islam Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri. People in small numbers continued to join those assembled in the Kilometer-Plus D-Square space in front of Parliament House in Islamabad.
While the long march was impressive the numbers, for the most part, remained under-strength. It was a huge crowd and Sheikh-ul-Islam’s followers stayed put despite the inclement weather. But D-Square did not turn into Tahrir Square. And thus, Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri, the proponent of "Hussaniat" had to beg a "Honorable Return Agreement" from the Government, the followers of the "Yazidiat".
Elections in the present circumstances would mean a mere change of faces, and Sheikh-ul-Islam Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri wanted them delayed indefinitely until Pakistan’s endemic politics-based corruption is rooted out. These calls for sweeping reforms have riled both the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party and the loyal Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) opposition. The means Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri is advocating to pursue demands for "Good Governance" may be wrong. Political parties decried such means quite rightly, but why did they remain silent about people’s cries for good governance? Most politicians view him not as a champion of reform but as a tool of those with their own agenda. The question bedeviling most analysts, a majority of whom trashed Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri’s "Invisible" agenda without taking issue with the stated one, is: who put Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri forward?
Mistake not the writing on the wall. This country is not destined for "Pakistan Spring", a localized version of Arab Spring. Our stars are not aligned in that direction. The Status Quo is too entrenched and those who feed off it will frown at any maverick attempt to disturb it.
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