Approaching the one month mark, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek’s (PAT’s) sit-in in the capital seems to have taken a turn for the worse as far as resolving the crisis is concerned. Having reached this month long milestone, where participant fatigue and general freezing of the workings of the capital city are now making their presence felt, the PTI and PAT should have taken note of the fact that any avenue open for dialogue or a civilised way out of this imbroglio was to be welcomed. On Saturday, the government directed law enforcement agencies to arrest PTI and PAT workers after Chairman PTI Imran Khan announced a One Nation Day, basically a clarion call to gather more numbers and pressurise the government of the PML-N to give in to its undemocratic demands. The police arrested as many as 300 workers belonging to both parties on Saturday, identified as being the ones who had stormed into and attacked the office of Pakistan Television (PTV), and also those hooligans who were caught trying to break into waterlines and indulging in electricity theft. This has resulted in the PTI and PAT breaking off all dialogue with the government. Almost all of those arrested have now been granted bail and released in accordance with due process. While the leaders of the PTI and PAT, Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri respectively, can be seen hollering out loud to their waning supporters in the crowds about the injustice of these arrests, one must pause and take stock. It has been a whole month since these dharnas (sit-ins) commenced and it has not all been singing and dancing on the streets of the capital. The everyday working of the government and the economic activity on which we so depend have come to a grinding halt, resulting in the loss of billions of rupees, money we can ill afford to just flush down the gutter. The sit-ins have resulted in the cancelling of the Chinese president’s visit to Islamabad and all sorts of business activity has shut down because of the unpredictable and possibly volatile nature of the events in the capital. With this kind of havoc being played with the very heart of our economy and international standing, the fact that the government of the PML-N has not done more to stem the situation is what should boggle the mind. Imran Khan’s and Tahirul Qadri’s allegations have yet to be proved. There may very well have been some form of electoral rigging at the local constituency level, but the charge of a wholesale systematic plan remains without foundation or convincing evidence. On that unproved and dubious basis to descend upon the capital with a few thousand supporters and demand that a sitting prime minister who enjoys a clear majority in parliament and the support of all other parties except one to simply step down would be setting a dangerous precedent if this nonsense is allowed to continue for much longer. There are rules that must be followed in the political system and all such grievances must be brought to parliament. All the gripes and issues that Khan and Qadri have are not new to the game of politics as electoral reforms have been an issue before. However, a correct course must be followed or anarchy will set in. The government’s incredible (and not without criticism) restraint can be attributed to the disastrous handling of the Model Town Lahore incident in which 14 innocent people lost their lives due to excessive police brutality. The government knows that if anything like that happens again, it would be political suicide. This is a psychological apprehension and the government must overcome its fears and handle the issue and the Punjab police properly. In the interest of clearing Constitution Avenue, a step ordered by no less than the Supreme Court, the government imposed Section 144, which prohibits a gathering of more than five people. Despite that the crowds did not disperse. The PTI and PAT workers should count themselves lucky that the government is fighting its own demons at the moment. It is simply not okay to hold the government and country hostage at gunpoint. While peaceful protest is a democratic right, violent and never ending agitation that challenges the writ of the state is not. The government must now firmly and wisely crack down on all law breakers and violators of the principle of peaceful protest in the interests of getting the business of the state and government back on track. Being elected also imposes the responsibility of safeguarding state and society (the millions) against the conspiratorial intrigues of the few and their suspected backers in the establishment. *