Any person who is suffering from some ailment when goes to the doctor, after examination he hands over the list of various tests so that disease is diagnosed and accordingly medicines are prescribed. The patient only gets relief if his disease is diagnosed correctly. That means the root cause must be established. Coming to Dharna politics, it is a form of protest that is undertaken as an extreme step when legitimate demands are denied or not fulfilled. Protests is constitutional right and is practiced throughout the world. However due to poor handling of the situation by the state some protests are converted to sit in that is called Dharna. The duration of protest is short lived as long as the government takes appropriate measures and attends to the root cause of protesters. If it is not timely addressed it sometimes is converted in to Dharnas. These could spread over many days’ results in disruption in traffic flow apart from causing inconvenience to general public at large and damage to economy. Over the years the Dharna has become common in Pakistan. Due to poor handling of PTI dharna in 2014 it lasted for 126 days and was called off after terrorist’s attack on Army Public School in Peshawar. The history of protests in Pakistan dates back to 1947. Since then, Pakistan has seen a multitude of protests and uprisings, culminating into Dharnas undertaken by various political parties. Pakistan has seen huge protests dharnas by various political parties. The history of the dharna culture in Pakistan traces back to the time even before the partition of the subcontinent. Mahatma Gandhi was the first one to start with in his non-violent civil disobedience movements. Later, many political and religious groups adopted this strategy in Pakistan. The country has been adversely impacted by the bad name brought by the dharna politics in Pakistan. Every individual has a fundamental right to peacefully protest against any injustice but the government must react rationally instead using force.
In Pakistan, dharna politics has caused tremendous damage to the legitimacy of Pakistan’s government and raising many questions against it. The technique has been successfully used for the last ten years to pressurize the governments. The famous sit-in of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) in 2014, brought a new wave of dharnas, lockdowns, and warnings disrupting the peace of the country apart from crippling the economy. During the Zia Era, the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) led a sit-in targeting to instigate masses against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. In 1980, sit-in again took place but this time it was more about the ethnicity rather than a government rebel. In 1992, Benazir Bhutto announced a long march that aimed to protest against the general elections of 1990 that were rigged. Another sit-in led by the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, after the visit of Indian Prime Minister Attal Bihar Vajpayee to Lahore, Dharna culture became common. Government instead reaching out to parties reacted by placing thousands of containers and blocking motor ways, high ways major crossings to stop entry and assembly of people instead reaching out to protesters to reach to amicable solution.In 2009, Imran Khan, Qazi Hussain and Nawaz Sharif together arranged a sit-in against PPP which was followed by another protest against PPP in 2013. In 2014. The Lahore Dharna of Pakistan Awami Tehreek caused several causalities of its workers. In 2017, the TLP protest led to container blockages, a takeover by police and the army thereafter, transmissions off-aired by PEMRA, and extended chaos. In April 2021, a protest against the blasphemous publication by France led to another TLP protest which demanded a ban on French products and expulsion of the French Ambassador from Pakistan. The most recent of all these include the October 2021 sit-in of TLP on Murree Road, demanding the release of its chief Saad Hussain Rizvi, where after intense clashes between civilians and policemen, there was finally an agreement with the government. The most suffered sector is the economic sector, the educational and business houses. The blockage of roads mainly done by the containers prevent people to reach their destinations, particularly the daily wagers, suffer the most. Since the formation of Pakistan, the country has suffered numerous sit-ins which not only impact the economy of the country but also damage the international image of Pakistan. Over the years, the political leaders have used long marches at provincial level to stage Dharna in D chowk Islamabad to press their demands. The government deployed thousands of containers besides blocking all entry points. Using containers to stop the people proved in effective, what happened after that is a history. There is definite need for Government and opposition and all political leaders to sit and formulate code to prevent protests and dharnas . It is true that Quaid never liked Dharnas, but successive governments never bothered to act on the advice of Quaid who warned the government servants and said “. You should not be influenced by any political pressure, by any political party or individual politician. If you want to raise the prestige and greatness of Pakistan, you must not fall a victim to any pressure but do your duty as servant to the people and the state, fearlessly and honestly. Services are the backbone of the state. Governments are formed, Governments are defeated, Prime Ministers come and go, Ministers come and go, but you stay on, and therefore, there is a great responsibility places on your shoulders. Make the people feel that you are their servants and friends, maintain the highest standard of honor, integrity, justice and fair play. Work honestly and sincerely”. Extracts from Quaid-E-Azam address to Public Servants at Chittagong and Government House Peshawar on 25thMarch and 14th April, 1948.No government acted on the advice of Quaid e Azam and forgot all the lessons and all the institutions started indulging in politics that resulted in dismemberment of Pakistan, even then no lesson learned.26th amendment is classic example of negation of what our Quaid said. All the 26 amendments have been made to strengthen personal benefits and has nothing to do with the welfare of people, therefore people stage dharnas. Still time to follow the principles as envisaged by Quaid and instead treating disease treat the symptoms.
