SUNDAY brought what was being whispered about in Islamabad for days: the dismissal of the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
asserted
what → bring → Pakhtunkhwa
The whispers had turned into news by Saturday.
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whispers → turn → Saturday
All day long, the mainstream media kept reporting on the possibility of an emergency, adding that the prime minister would hold a cabinet meeting on Sunday morning to make the ‘final’ decision.
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minister → keep → decision
But by Saturday evening, there were many other meetings as politicians from the government and opposition sides met or held consultations publicly and behind the scenes.
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politicians → be → scenes
These were last-ditch efforts to avoid taking a ‘painful decision’.
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These → avoid → decision
There was little clarity on what the outcome of these comings and goings would be.
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outcome → be → comings
Apart from the government and PTI, the JUI-F, too, had jumped into the fray and offered to mediate between the two sides.
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F → jump → sides
In fact, on Sunday morning, channels reported that the prime minister called Maulana Fazlur Rahman during the meeting, creating the impression that some last-minute deal was being thrashed out.
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deal → report → impression
But clearly, these were red herrings, for soon it was announced that both an emergency and governors’ rule had been imposed.
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emergency → announce → ?
It later transpired that the call was simply to inform the maulana about the decision.
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call → transpire → decision
The cabinet meeting was followed by a bunch of ministers, including of law and interior, holding a press conference to justify their decision.
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meeting → follow → decision
They all looked a bit glum; perhaps they hadn’t slept much.
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they → look → ?
The PTI’s reaction was muted as it was limited to social media.
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it → limit → media
It seemed as if the television channels were not covering what was happening in KP; neither did they report on the fate of the PTI leadership.
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they → seem → leadership
Social media posts claimed that the chief minister, Sohail Afridi, as well as other officials, including the KP Assembly Speaker, had been picked up.
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minister → claim → Speaker
However, the number of those picked up or arrested is not known; there is little reporting on the issue and the government isn’t willing to provide details.
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government → pick → details
It seems the party’s coverage on the mainstream electronic media is being limited.
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coverage → seem → media
By the evening, an advisory council had been put together, in which individuals were given portfolios.
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individuals → put → portfolios
It also held a meet-and-greet session with the governor.
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It → hold → governor
From the details provided about the people and their portfolios, it seems that far more time had gone into the decision than a mere 24 hours.
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time → provide → hours
This is something that was lent more credence by the press conference by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, who alleged that the government had backed out of talks.
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government → lend → talks
Governance by a technocratic administration in KP will help the PTI retain its popularity.
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PTI → help → popularity
Interestingly, the federal government has imposed an emergency as well as governor’s rule.
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government → impose → emergency
The logic is hard to understand, though one lawyer suggested it may be because governor’s rule has a time limit while an emergency endorsed by parliament doesn’t.
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emergency → understand → parliament
The federal government didn’t want a time limit or to leave the PTI government in place; hence, it used both.
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it → want → both
And with the kind of administrative measures taken, along with the cabinet announced, it doesn’t seem the new set-up is here for a short time.
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up → take → time
But perhaps this is the price they had to pay to keep enjoying power without mandate.
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they → have → mandate
The two parties had got off the democracy train some time ago.
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parties → get → train
At the moment, there is little likelihood of them getting back on.
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them → be → moment
But this is not to say they can’t clamber back on; after all the party that has opposed Sunday’s decision unequivocally is the JUI-F, which was once part and parcel of a set-up introduced by Gen Musharraf.
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which → say → Musharraf
In the land of the pure, parties find new positions quickly.
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parties → find → positions
They discover democracy again and again and again.
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They → discover → democracy
It is a bit like some of us enjoy returning to the same books again and again; the familiarity is what makes it comforting.
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it → enjoy → books
However, what will not be easily forgotten is this notion of political parties based in Sindh and Punjab adding to the instability facing the other half of Pakistan — Balochistan and KP, which face the brunt of the violence.
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which → forget → violence
Now on to the issue of terrorism, which allegedly led to the decision to dismiss the KP government.
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which → lead → government
It cannot be tackled in an article on politics but suffice it to say that this new set-up will not have much impact on the violence in the province.
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up → tackle → province
This is partly because terrorism was provided as a justification for the decision to impose an emergency, and is not the reason behind the dismissal of the PTI government, and partly because the government’s argument contradicts itself — it blames the PTI for not providing the political ownership of the state’s effort against terrorism and then proceeds to replace an elected government with a technocratic set-up.
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it → provide → up
How will this provide the much-needed ownership?
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this → provide → ownership
More serious still is the decision of the federal government and establishment to take over the province and directly assume responsibility for all that happens there.
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that → take → all
If in the coming weeks and months, terrorism does not subside, there will be no PTI to blame.
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terrorism → come → weeks
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
