“It’s only because of their stupidity that they’re able to be so sure of themselves.” — Franz Kafka

It was well over midnight when the interior minister standing at the corner of D-Chowk triumphantly declared that the capital had been cleared of protesters without a bullet being fired. Behind him, one could see a container — which had carried the PTI leaders a while ago — in flames, and piles of vehicles, left by fleeing protesters, strewn on the street. The events of the night of Nov 26 tell a very different story than what the interior minister claimed.

It was perhaps the bloodiest night the capital had ever witnessed, with a number of protesters reportedly falling victim to gunshots allegedly fired by security forces. At least a dozen were reported to have died. But it was a Pyrrhic victory for a shaky dispensation. The use of brute force may have succeeded in driving out the rampaging crowd but the bloody incident has pushed the country deeper into chaos.

It has also exposed the fragility of the PTI, which now appears to be in a state of complete disarray. Notwithstanding its undiminished mass support, the main opposition party seems rudderless, with the intensification of infighting. The violent end of the march and the arrest of hundreds of its supporters has also come as a huge setback to the party. However, while both sides have been bruised in the showdown, it is the state that seems to have lost the trust of the people.

The worsening clash between the........

© Dawn