Going, going, gone?
  
Both Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri must be very dejected. They thought that the government would fall perhaps even before they reached Islamabad. When the government did not budge, they incited their followers to indulge in violence, probably expecting that hundreds would die in the resulting police action and the army would be compelled to intervene and overthrow the government. 
The most astonishing thing was that their men calmly beat up policemen while other men in uniform looked on indifferently. We had no idea our police are so helpless. One of the first things to be investigated is why the police are not trained to deal with demonstrators attacking state and private property. The two leaders have also shown the way to others how to effectively paralyze the government. With such people in our midst, do we need external enemies? Both Imran and Qadri should retire immediately from politics and leave the country. As for those in power, the PML-N, one hopes they've seen the writing on the wall and will perform in accordance with people's expectations. If they had allowed local bodies elections to be held, perhaps things would never have come to such a sorry pass.

Shakir Lakhani
Karachi
Printed in The News, September 05, 2014 

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