New Pakistan: An Asset or a Liability

Imran Khan is a twenty second but first ever genuinely elected prime minister in Pakistan. Since, his election explicitly explains that in the past we all knew who was going to be the next PM, CM, Governor, and even president of Pakistan but in new Pakistan we were just predicting that he/she might be appointed at one of the said posts. The Pakistan Tehrik e Insaaf broke the traditional governing set up in Pakistan and introduced a third great group in Pakistan after Pakistan people’s party and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz groups.

IK election as PM was uncertain for having majority of the National

Assembly seats yet not enough for making a government comfortably. Previous twenty one PMs of Pakistan never ever faced as such uncertainty as elected PM of Pakistan. Since they all have been selected Prime Ministers of Pakistan by the establishment.

The role of establishment has been very important in making and destabilizing governments in the world over. We have to understand that establishment always side the most influential group or party in the country and tries to give an impression that it has full control on the influential candidates. Their technique of propaganda and other tools of information work very efficiently to monopolize the whole process of making the governments. The establishment if ever try to work with feeble groups who have been less intelligent and less tolerant, make it more effective and real masters as establishment uses their weaknesses time and again. For example usually corruption has been the major element in the previous governments in Pakistan. Thus it was very easy for the establishment to seat or unseat any government.

Although new government of IK has an inexperienced team as compared to the previously ruling groups’ teams. I am using the word group instead of party because according to the strict sense of political science unfortunately no political group in Pakistan may be considered as a political party. Political party may be defined as a group of like minded individuals who intend to seek power through legitimate means. Thus in Pakistan, political groups usually have unfair intra-party elections. Chairmen of the groups lead owing to their charisma, wealth or status instead of intelligence, credibility or honesty. Earlier, I was talking about the inexperienced team of the IK who undoubtedly has more credibility as compared to the ousted corrupt government of the PMLN. The PTI proved in the general elections 2018 that the out going government was experienced in two things; corruption and crony capitalism, used to make prosperous only to their siblings and kins with extorting the public tax money. Experience of nepotism, corruption and kickbacks among PMLN bad PPP broke the backs of the mediocre and the poor in Pakistan. The PTI talked against corruption and dynastic politics of the two main stream political groups of the country PPP and the PMLN before 2018 general elections. The so called religious parties keep roaring as they used to do in the past but remained unsuccessful in making any visible impression in any of the GEs in the history of Pakistan. The term of religious parties is itself wrong and very much strange in Pakistan. It is used for the so called religious people who use the name of Islam to serve their purpose but has nothing to do with Islam or its values. Maulana Fazlur Rehman who has been a part of all previous governments in one way or the other through his cunning nature and so called reconciliatory policies. In the same way Jamait-I-Islami used to work as a violent group. It used to spoil all Pakistani academic institutions and did her best to capture University of the Punjab, Government Islamia College Civil Lines Lahore and other like institutions but after the 2007 incident of thrashing the present PM IK proved a last straw for the JI group of students popularly known as Islami Jamiat Tuleba.

We all know there is no non Muslim political group in Pakistan especially we are unable to say PPP, PMLN, PTI or other such groups as UnIslamic. Few people believe that these groups use the name of Islam that is why they are known as religious parties. It is again a senseless argument because using the name of Islam for some gains is itself UnIslamic. Even we can say other groups who are not using the name of Islam are more religious. Thus this term religious party is absolutely inept in the case of Pakistan.

We may say that JI is the only organized group so far in the history of Pakistan. Before GE 2018 one more group named as Tehrik-I-Labbaik Yarsulullah also tried to make an impact but could not sustain owing to the tunnel vision of its leader self acclaimed Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi.

Therefore, in GE 2018, the PTI emerged victorious owing to its very well campaign against corruption and made its way to assume power for the first time in Pakistan. It has made its government in Centre, Punjab, KPK and a Coalition government in Baluchistan.

What to do next?

The PTI now has its president which is  another feather in the cap of the PTI,   it has to avoid to do what their predecessors did. IK owing to his charismatic personality is ruling over the hearts of the people as well as its cabinet. Army, Judiciary, executive, legislature and all major institutions are apparently in good working relationship with the PTI government.

IK has a great edge over the previous PMs in Pakistan, he has been a great hero of Pakistan cricket and only achiever of Cricket World Cup 1992.

He needs to make an efficient foreign policy just keeping in view that policy of appeasement and begging have been the major policies of the previous government and it has to escape itself from being apologetic and a beggar. Second it has to adopt austerity at home and abroad pragmatically as he has started it successfully.

Clean environment has been a main policy of the PTI in last five years at KPK and to be continued in new Pakistan under the premiership of IK after the GE 2018. The IK policy of @plant4Pakistan is being remarkably appreciated in and out of Pakistan.

Economic prosperity will come through simple baby steps; one to decrease expenditures and secure the tax money of the people. Two, Increase exports and decrease imports. Three, export surplus and import only needs. We used to export needs and import luxuries, took a heavy toll of our economy, buried us under heavy intermestic (international and domestic) debts.

IK has been lucky that it got a better Pakistan as compared to the previous PMs.

There are better security conditions and appreciable infrastructure especially in the main cities of Pakistan.

IK has to run CPEC wisely. It is a case of political wisdom and he has to include Pakistani academia in this project instead of foreign qualified people.

For this IK has to review our education system that based on more cramming and influx of information but void of wisdom. To make education as a source of wisdom is only possible when we carve out a pragmatic plan with an emergency. We have to include our universities and researchers for making the system truly workable. We have to make difference between apples and oranges.

The PTI government’s Economic Advisory Council needs a review as it is better to include any public university genuine researcher instead of relying upon more foreign qualified people. Since, it has been a misunderstanding that western qualified people can make better policies if it has been so why once Harvard teacher and student Barack Obama dropped the most number of bombs on innocent people of the world? Why Miftah Ismail the UPenn graduate remained unsuccessful in refreshing Pakistan’s economy? Why a Stanford graduate Syed Murad Ali Shah could not lift the status of Sindh? There are many examples who used to know as highly qualified people but remained unsuccessful in making any positive difference. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and Benazir Bhutto again are examples of failed elite in Pakistan. Muhammad Khan Junejo the former PM during 1986-88 challenges the dictatorship of General Zia-ul- Haq, was a St. Patrick Karachi and Plumpton University UK graduate made a real difference in good governance in Pakistan. My point is including more local people is in the best interest of the country, much better for IK to get genuine and original feedback as we local people know our people’s anomalies better than a Harvard and Stanford graduates. Mercenaries never win a war but national soldiers do. Our educated people are more prudential than the western qualified who are usually trained in quantitative research, apply mathematical and statistical tests and techniques for getting estimated results but Pakistan need a qualitative dissection for certain results. That can only be achieved through local academia who has the local as well as international exposure and have direct understanding of local socio-Political and economic  predicaments. They can get a certain solution of our crises. They can make this country an asset for all.

IK has to develop the rural areas of Pakistan that the previous governments ignored owing to their tunnel vision that cause a rigorous process of urbanization in Pakistan because rural areas remained underdeveloped or non developed.

Less schools for girls, less higher education opportunities. Less health care structures.

IK has to work on it efficiently and briskly. He has the advantage of his vision and an educated team that previous governments missed.

All institutions are supporting the PTI government owing to its honest leadership. It is first time in the history of Pakistan that after Muhammad Ali Jinnah an honest and patriot leader is in the government. He is a blue eyed person of most of the population.

IK has to separate himself from his family affairs to run his government successfully. There is no one from IK personal family who has been at any influential post in any office of Pakistan. Thus, it is a great opportunity for him to make a trend in Pakistan politics that how to alienate family from politics.

Merit, transparency has been in articles, books, seminars and conferences but it is need of the hour to implement such pristine principles of Islam in the main stream politics of Pakistan.

Besides merit and transparency accountability is sine qua non. Without accountability meritocracy and transparency become futile. In the prevailing ideal conditions, IK has a great chance of success if he remains focused on his agenda that he has been talking loudly in his speeches from Dharna to Parliament.

There was only one crisis in Pakistan that was leadership crisis seems to be resolved let’s see how we materialize it and make our country an asset for all or a liability for the next generation. We have to rise and fall together. It is not IK only who has to work efficiently but we all have to support him. Undoubtedly leader has to be the role model in setting examples and we have to follow suit.