In early 2023, Pakistan was gripped by severe political instability and its worst economic crisis.
The inflation rate was touching the highest levels in the country's history; petroleum products and electricity bills had become beyond the reach of the poor masses, and the soaring dollar had virtually crippled the national economy. The government appeared helpless before the stringent conditions of the IMF
In these circumstances, the Tehreek announced the 'Save Pakistan March' from Karachi to Islamabad in May 2023 in order to give voice to the country's deteriorating economic situation and public anguish.
The fundamental objectives of this longest, struggle-laden journey undertaken in the scorching heat of May and June, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, were the abolition of the interest-based economic system; opposition to the IMF's anti-people policies; immediate reduction in the prices of petroleum, electricity, and gas to provide relief to the poor; and the conveyance of important religious and ideological demands to the corridors of power, including the protection of the laws safeguarding the honour of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.
After traversing nearly twenty-five days of arduous travel, when this caravan reached Wazirabad on 17 June, the administration of the time was compelled to bow down, and a written agreement was reached with the federal government in which reductions in petroleum prices and acceptance of other demands were promised.
However, the history of Pakistan bears witness that whenever the 'Crane Party' challenged the traditional coercive system and the self-created idols of the power centres, it was branded as an 'anarchist' and an 'anti-people party' and attempts were made to crush it through crackdowns and restrictions.
Today, once again, the beloved homeland is in the grip of the same dreadful storm of economic oppression and inflation, where the prices of petroleum products and the heavy gas and electricity bills are draining the lifeblood of the people. Yet the oppressive government seated in the halls of power and the expedient political parties lie in deep slumber beneath the blanket of their vested interests. The reality is that when the leader of the Tehreek took to the streets in May 2023 for the rights of the people, he made it clear that the nation's resources and land belong first and foremost to its people rather than to the slaves of the IMF.
He also declared that the slogan and determination of those who speak the truth never change in the face of guns, state uniforms, smoke, and oppression.
Yet today, when the movement's leadership has been forcibly and unjustly removed from the field of action by state institutions and the power centres, the entire political arena lies deserted.
- Where are the hypocritical leaders, political vultures, and cowardly warriors of social media who claim to feel the pain of the people?
- Why does no one now call for protest against inflation, and why does no one possess the courage to restrain the hand of the oppressor?
It was such timid critics and those who sought to build their politics while sitting in their homes whom the leader of the Tehreek challenged at the commencement of the march from Karachi's Mizar-e-Quaid, declaring: 'A man is one who comes into the field and speaks; those who sit on social media are not men.'
Today, in the apparent absence of the leadership, this deserted political arena bears witness to the fact that only this sincere caravan possesses the courage to stand firm against oppression.
These bitter realities have torn the masks from the faces of all political tricksters, and the people should now read the writing on the wall and recognise who their true leader and sharer of their pain and suffering really is. It has been proven that the movement's manifesto of 'Islam, Pakistan, and the People' is not merely a political slogan or a lust for power; rather, it is an alternative framework for the establishment of a genuine Islamic welfare society, one that holds oppressive forces accountable and truly represents the deprived and downtrodden sections of society.
The present silence in the political arena and the mysterious quietness of the so-called leaders are a seal of confirmation upon the truth that only this proud caravan possesses the courage to step forth in the scorching heat of May and June, carrying their lives upon the palms of their hands for the rights of the poor. The chains of oppression and the hardships of imprisonment cannot erase this voice of truth from the hearts of the people, for even the opponents are today compelled to admit that when consciences were being traded, this caravan alone remained sincere.
Let these oppressive halls of power and this Pharaoh-like system of governance remember that we may die, but we shall never support these tyrannical rulers and this oppressive system of government.
For Hussaini honour and courage required one to be present on the field of action in the past, and they continue to require such presence today.
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