A Pyrrhic victory for Pakistani state
The Statesman|November 29, 2024
The Pakistani state may have succeeded in pushing the protesters back from the streets of the capital on Tuesday night, but consider what it took to make that happen.
KHURRAM HUSAIN
A Pyrrhic victory for Pakistani state

Even before the crowds had departed, the scale of the lockdown in Punjab was perhaps unprecedented, even compared to the pandemic. Speak with industry owners across the province and listen to the stories of shipments stuck—whether of raw material coming into factories or finished product ready for shipment to the port—and you will get a sense of how far-reaching the lockdown was.

The state won the showdown; there is no doubt about that. But in order to win, they had to literally paralyze the largest province in the country, as well as its industrial heartland. Let's not bother tallying up the losses the few days of shutdown inflicted on industry. Those are puny by comparison to the long-term losses we are all going to suffer on account of the manifest weakness of the state that the protest exposed.

This is the first time I have seen state authorities compelled to use so much violence to secure the streets of the capital. It is also the first time I have seen such extreme and stringent measures to ensure nobody from Punjab could come out to join the protest. Lockdowns were required to keep the pandemic at bay. They were also required to clear the air in the wake of the smog emergency. But nowhere did the state move with such decisive speed to implement a near chokehold on the province, paralyzing all intercity movement as well as digital traffic, as it did when a protest call needed to be thwarted. Given all that it took to contain the protest and then to beat it back, it can be asked whether or not the state's is a Pyrrhic victory.

Esta historia es de la edición November 29, 2024 de The Statesman.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición November 29, 2024 de The Statesman.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE THE STATESMANVer todo
The Statesman

Russia and Indonesia Hold Talks to Strengthen Ties on Defense and Security

Russia and Indonesia took steps on Tuesday to strengthen their defense ties with a meeting between a top Russian security official and Indonesia's defense minister in the capital of Jakarta as Moscow's war on Ukraine entered its fourth year.

time-read
1 min  |
February 26, 2025
Adani Wilmar Renamed as AWL Agri Business Limited
The Statesman

Adani Wilmar Renamed as AWL Agri Business Limited

Adani Group's Fast-Moving Consumer Group (FMCG) unit, Adani Wilmar, has changed its name to AWL Agri Business Limited, the company said in a press release on Tuesday.

time-read
1 min  |
February 26, 2025
The Statesman

Sensex halts 5-day losing run; metal & IT stocks drag

Atclose, Sensex was up 147.71 points or0.20 per centat 74,602.12

time-read
2 minutos  |
February 26, 2025
Taiwan Is Investigating a Chinese-Crewed Ship Believed to Have Severed an Undersea Cable
The Statesman

Taiwan Is Investigating a Chinese-Crewed Ship Believed to Have Severed an Undersea Cable

Taiwanese authorities are investigating a Chinese-crewed ship suspected of severing an undersea communications cable in the latest such incident, adding to tensions between Taipei and Beijing.

time-read
1 min  |
February 26, 2025
The Statesman

₹2,000 crore loss to Delhi govt due to liquor policy

CAG's report on the 2021-22 excise policy is tabled in Delhi Assembly

time-read
1 min  |
February 26, 2025
The Statesman

SEBI Proposes New Method to Prevent Stock Manipulation in Derivatives Market

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed a major change in the way open interest (OI) is calculated in the equity derivatives market.

time-read
1 min  |
February 26, 2025
The Statesman

PM Modi deeply disappointed people of Manipur: Congress

The Congress on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has yet again deeply disappointed the people of Manipur by not visiting the strife-torn state though he was in Assam.

time-read
1 min  |
February 26, 2025
The Statesman

Mithali elated after UP Warriorz's historic WPL win

In a gripping encounter that went down to the wire, UP Warriorz outclassed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in a Super Over to claim victory in the Women's Premier League (WPL). The match marked a historic moment, as it was the first time a WPL game was decided in a Super Over.

time-read
1 min  |
February 26, 2025
The Statesman

An Unknown Illness Kills Over 50 People in Part of Congo With Hours Between Symptoms and Death

An unknown illness has killed over 50 people in northwestern Congo, according to doctors on the ground and the World Health Organization on Monday.

time-read
1 min  |
February 26, 2025
The Statesman

Trump backs Musk as he roils the federal workforce with demands and threats

President Donald Trump backed Elon Musk's demand that federal employees explain their recent accomplishments by the end of Monday or risk getting fired, even as government agency officials were told that compliance with Musk's edict was voluntary.

time-read
1 min  |
February 26, 2025