PTI has successfully latched onto an issue that it can own with the holding of the second dharna against drone strikes in Karachi.
The basic premise is sound: The policy of entangling oneself with the US in Afghanistan will continue to have an escalating blow back for Pakistan. 35,000 Pakistanis have been murdered since 9/11 and terrorism rises every day. The policy has failed. Repeating the same will only exacerbate the situation.
So a need to come up with alternatives. Going against drone attacks is a no-brainer as almost everyone agrees that they not only enraging more people as a vast majority of those killed have nothing to do with the perpetrators of terrorist attacks. Even more importantly, no country should be allowed to attack national territory. So it's very easy to sway public opinion on side against drone attacks.
Normally, whenever Chairman Khan took a stance on an issue, other parties jumped in and spoke louder than him for the same stance hijacking the issue. This time, 'Dharna against Drone Attacks' is all Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. It's a stance with only upsides to it.
More than likely, the drone attacks will cause more harm than good, and PTI will be there to reap the political rewards having lead for a change in policy on this issue. A compromised political leadership, a military leadership financially entangled with foreign aid all function to isolate the establishment players. PTI can only gain from this.
The basic premise is sound: The policy of entangling oneself with the US in Afghanistan will continue to have an escalating blow back for Pakistan. 35,000 Pakistanis have been murdered since 9/11 and terrorism rises every day. The policy has failed. Repeating the same will only exacerbate the situation.
So a need to come up with alternatives. Going against drone attacks is a no-brainer as almost everyone agrees that they not only enraging more people as a vast majority of those killed have nothing to do with the perpetrators of terrorist attacks. Even more importantly, no country should be allowed to attack national territory. So it's very easy to sway public opinion on side against drone attacks.
Normally, whenever Chairman Khan took a stance on an issue, other parties jumped in and spoke louder than him for the same stance hijacking the issue. This time, 'Dharna against Drone Attacks' is all Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. It's a stance with only upsides to it.
More than likely, the drone attacks will cause more harm than good, and PTI will be there to reap the political rewards having lead for a change in policy on this issue. A compromised political leadership, a military leadership financially entangled with foreign aid all function to isolate the establishment players. PTI can only gain from this.
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