Container politics went on the road on Sunday when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan left the capital city of Islamabad, where he has been camped out for over a month, to visit Karachi, the country’s largest commercial hub and stronghold of the MQM. There he addressed a large crowd, much larger than the few scattered thousands showing up at his rally in the federal capital. The venue in Karachi really did come alive with Khan’s signature flamboyance: music blasting at high volume and a massive display of fireworks. The large turnout can be attributed to the fact that Karachi is a huge urban centre and will definitely churn out more supporters than a much smaller place like Islamabad. In addition to this, the people of Karachi have not been treated to the spectacle of Imran Khan and his firebrand speeches and so the novelty of his appearance made for a sellout crowd. What stood out about his rally in Karachi was the fact that such a large gathering remained peaceful and without incident. Karachi is a hotbed of violence where large crowds provide ample fodder for attacks and bloodshed. However, Imran Khan was promised the venue as an honoured “guest” by Altaf Hussain, the head of the MQM. This ensured that no untoward incident took place, allowing for Khan to say what he had to and his starry-eyed followers to sample a little of the dharna (sit-in) ‘revolution’ we have been seeing for more than 40 days. Imran’s rhetoric is, unfortunately, the same. He is still agitating for the removal of Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif who sits in parliament with a clear majority. Taking this beaten route and feeding it to the masses across the length and breadth of the country will not change the fact that the PM is the premier because the masses chose him for the post. No one claims to know for certain that rigging did not take place but the seats for PML-N were so many that even if a few constituencies were witness to foul play, the end result will not change. Instead, Khan needs to change the theme of his agitation. He needs to lay off this gunpoint cavaliering and focus on enrapturing the masses to come and vote for him in the next elections, commit to fighting for electoral reforms and bettering the state of the province his party does head, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. If he keeps speaking of resignation and his spiels do not bear fruit, he will distance the enthused supporters he needs for round two in 2018. Javed Hashmi, the PTI’s president, has meanwhile spoken of Khan being prey to manipulation in a press conference on Monday. Khan needs to build on his credibility, not childishly hammer away at it when his demand for the PM’s resignation remains unfulfilled. * Pakistan-India tunnelling away The never ending drama between Pakistan and India, where the protagonists play familiar scripted roles that keep tensions high and the future unpredictable, is most likely to enter once again its follow up unavoidable phase. Since the foreign secretary-level talks were called off by the Indian authorities last month, the ensuing criticism raised questions about the future strategy of the two countries. As anticipated, the logic of necessity demanded they get back to dialogue. This, it seems, is finally happening. The news of discreet meetings between Pakistani and Indian top-ranking officials over the last week indicates a more promising road ahead. Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit met two Indian officials, National Security Adviser Ajit K Doval and Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh in separate meetings. The timing of these meetings is quite positive as the two premiers are set to fly to New York to address the UN General Assembly, where it is likely the two will meet on the sidelines. It is understandable that due to their respective domestic political compulsions, bilateral visits are more difficult to arrange considering the criticism they invite from certain quarters, but that should not stop the two using every opportunity to meet and work out the long-standing problems they face. Unfortunately, both the countries are still prisoners of history and any positive development is often nipped in the bud. Similarly, whenever it appears that the bottom has fallen out and there is no force that can bring them back together, a surprise awaits. However, it should be clear by now that there is no option left except dialogue to sort out all the intractable problems. At this stage, any unnecessary provocative statements should be avoided, such as Modi castigating Pakistan as having lost the ability to fight a conventional war and therefore resorting to a proxy one, and the recent Bilawal Bhutto statement about taking every inch of Kashmir back. Such aggressive statements only aggravate the situation and push the countries away from a civilised dialogue. Considering that both countries are nuclear armed, the possibility of war has been and should be completely ruled out. It is time that they address the issues that are of great concern. The devastation spread by floods across the borders demands that the two countries discuss cooperative water and flood management at the earliest. As to Kashmir, the main responsibility lies on India’s shoulders to arrive at an internal political settlement in Indian-held Kashmir by addressing the grievances of the people. This would pave the way for a trilateral settlement in which Pakistan would be inclined to support any solution acceptable to the people of Kashmir. Irrespective of this and all the other problems in the relationship, the logical pragmatic necessity is for both countries to initiate talks and find ways to move forward. *