Thread by @Shehzad89

Imran Khan is not your saviour. Nawaz Sharif is not your saviour. Asif Ali Zardari is not your saviour. Their politics runs through the elite corridors, and is a competition on who will be selected next.

Please do not sacrifice your life, or your future, or resort to violence.🧵

As Islamabad is being burnt down to satiate one man's ego and social media is divided between youthiye, jiyalas and patwaris, we need to start seeing each other as people to reduce this polarization. Stop this dehumanization effort that benefits those in power.

The Social Media algorithm is designed to show you content that enrages you the most, that is what helps their bottom lines.

TV channels do the same to drive up ratings and engagement. This era of constant breaking news is designed to keep you in a constant climate of fear.

Imran Khan is now not back on the streets for you, he is back on the streets for himself, he has to get himself back into power before November to safeguard his political future. PDM ousted them to prevent the Nov appointment and save their political future.

We are all pawns in this reality show we call politics in Pakistan. You've been tricked into thinking this is a fight between good and evil; it is not. It is a war of egos, and who gets to be the selected ones.

Imran Khan is lying when he says he allowed protests and freedom of speech as Prime Minister. We saw the worst kinds of fascist tactics being employed against political opponents and the media was completely muzzled during Khan's era.

Now PDM is using the same tactics against PTI. We, who principally stand against fascism, condemned it when it was being done by PTI, and we condemn it when it is being done to PTI.

The state has monopoly over violence but there should be no space for unjustified violence against people or police brutality. Illegal raids should be condemned and it is disgusting to see the family members of politicians being harassed.

It is also unacceptable that PTI supporters burnt down a police van in Karachi and burning down parts of Islamabad. There are multiple fires at D-chowk as well as we speak. Even TLP did not do this while protesting.

Had we taken swift action against those that committed violence during the Faizabad dharna we would not have been here. Instead, those people were rewarded and a vicious campaign was launched against Justice Qazi Faez Isa for writing a judgment detailing what went wrong there.

TLP was also forgiven for murdering policemen. PTI themselves were acquitted in their case of attacking the Parliament and PTV.

It is the right of every single Pakistani to peacefully protest but those that commit violence need to be brought to justice.

The day we stop dividing ourselves, and realize we should all be united against the Pakistani elite status quo that keeps us all enslaved is the day we will bring about real change in Pakistan.

There has been outcry all over Pakistan over what is happening to PTI leaders and supporters these days but there is silence across Pakistan when Baloch activists go missing. Protestors were fired at from a Helicopter in Chaggi but it was not even reported by the news.

Can you imagine what would have happened if the state had used a helicopter to fire at people at the PTI Karachi jalsa that happened a few days apart?
Who gets to protest in Pakistan, and how they get to protest, is also a question of privilege.

This elite circus keeps Pakistan in a perpetual state of crisis. The Nazak mur we always find ourselves at is essentially a round about.

We need to realize the fundamental issue is not the political parties but intervention.

Without intervention, our institutions will slowly build themselves up, evolve and flourish.

Intervention in the 2018 elections have brought up to this moment where we are not even sure if there is functioning Government or not.

PDM managed to oust Imran Khan but they've been clueless after coming into power, and the indecision on elections has meant Pakistan continues to suffer economically, and it will continue to do so because the system is designed just to privilege the elite.

To dream of a day that all of us realize how we are being fooled, and we listen to the wise sage that was Aunty Gormint who told us kay ye sab mil kar humay bana rahay hain, may be a day that may never come, despite Faiz Ahmed Faiz thinking of that day as being 'laazim'.

But what we can do for ourselves in the meanwhile is to not get sucked into the violence ourselves, not see each other as the enemy, not see each other as traitors, bikay huay, foreign agents, just because we may have different political opinions.

There is no civil war happening in Pakistan. Channels only make it seem so to drive ratings. If you turn off GEO or ARY, and walk into the streets you will find many Pakistanis you have a lot more in common with than you have reasons to hate.

Let's maybe try and not burn it all down to the ground. Those with foreign passports, or those who live in gated communities even, will be safe but the rest of us will suffer.

Easy to sit in your AC rooms and say sab bura hay, jala do is sab ko....but us aag mai jo ghareeb aayai ga, thora uska bhi soch layn...kyon kay kasam khuda kee ye humari elite kabhi unka nahee sochay gee