Imran Khan: The agent of change?

((Pakistan Times) Imran Khan’s personality overshadows the party and that is a fact known to every person in the country, even his followers. In that way, his party will not be different from the parties that are criticised by him and his followers as being dynastic in nature..

Many are calling Imran Khan the agent of change in Pakistan. Imran Khan, a person supported and backed by a majority of the urban youth in the country, is eyeing a major victory in the next elections. Pakistan, a country traditionally ruled and governed by dynastic politicians, is undoubtedly longing for change. However, its history suggests otherwise. But the question still remains: who will bring this change? Is it Imran Khan and his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), or the same agent of change that always comes uninvited and leaves of its own choice? Even if Imran Khan’s historic Lahore congregation is taken as an indication that he has support in Lahore, the traditional stronghold of the Sharif brothers, even then his high hopes of bringing about change all over the country remain dubious.

Imran Khan, a cricketer-turned-politician, is undoubtedly regarded highly, both in the national and international political arena. However, his personal success cannot be the sole reason why the 180 million people of this country should consider voting for him in the next elections. Imran Khan has remained controversial over a number of issues, including both his personal and political lives. For instance, Imran has been termed as the ‘sweet face of Jamaat-e-Islami’ by many in the past. However, now his most recent take over the Pak-India relationship has raised many eyebrows. He has assured the Indian side that, if he succeeds in the next elections, he will take stern action against the head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), Hafiz Saeed, and those involved in the Mumbai attacks. According to many analysts, this assurance of his contradicts his demands of halting the drone programme, which has resulted in the deaths of many civilians. Imran Khan talks about bringing the estranged Taliban and other militant groups into the mainstream, mostly through dialogue, which is yet another contradiction. Imran also strongly believes in the fundamentals of an Islamic state. However, whenever he faces the international media he talks about a free market economy and other liberal concepts, which in a way are contradictory in nature.

Imran Khan has ruled out his alliance with any corrupt political party.

Addressing a news conference in Lahore, Imran laid out his party’s policy on the issue of alliances. He said PTI would not ally with any party or individual who didn’t declare assets honestly. He said no one could now stop the tsunami of change in Pakistan.

Imran said Shah Mehmood is a fair, honest and educated politician and would ultimately join the PTI.

He said the party ticket would only be given to the candidates who are honest and who are not hiding their assets.

The PTI has lately been accused of offering more or less the same faces in the shape of alliances with old politicians who have at some stages served in the previous set-ups. However, Imran has said that the doors are open for all after scrutiny by the PTI’s integrity committee.

This is not to say that Imran Khan is incapable of bringing change to the country. However, an agenda is needed to support the kind of tall claims that Imran Khan is making. Apart from major cities and constituencies in the country, representatives of Imran Khan’s party are nowhere else to be seen. So if, let us say, the population wants to vote for Imran Khan, particularly those residing in far-flung areas, then who would they be voting for? The PTI lacks representatives in a majority of the areas of the country and even if the representatives are there they are not known to the public. Recently, a couple of well-known and seasoned politicians announced their allegiance to the PTI, but that too is not evident of the fact that Imran Khan’s party has gained any political mileage.

I have been using the name Imran Khan instead of that of his party, the PTI, because I do not see a party that has its roots in the public space. It, too, is a party that is dominated by a figure who is considered a ‘hero’ because he won a world cup for the country. Imran Khan’s personality overshadows the party and that is a fact known to every person in the country, even his followers. In that way, his party will not be different from the parties that are criticised by him and his followers as being dynastic in nature.

As said earlier, Imran Khan’s party lacks an agenda, one that he promised to present at the Lahore congregation. Whatever was presented was a vague collection of changes that he wishes to bring if his party is brought into power in the next elections. A clear plan to uplift the economy was totally absent in his arguments. He only emphasised the need for politicians to declare their assets and the taxes they pay, which has never happened in the history of this country.

Imran Khan while fearing the possibility of rigging in the elections to be held under President Asif Zardari-led PPP has warned that rigging attempts would invite bloodshed.

He made this warning while addressing a Press conference at his residence on Thursday on the occasion of joining of several former Parliamentarians and district leaders into the PTI, who belong to District Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib and Jaranwala.

Prominent among those who joined the PTI include former member National and Provincial Assemblies, Muhammad Saeed Virk, Mian Khalid Mehmood, Shahid Manzoor Gill, Abdul Rasheed Dogar, Ghulam Haider Bari, Engineer Muhammad Bilal Virk, Tahir Memood Gill, Iftikhar Dogar and dozens of former Nazimeen and Naib Nazimeen.

He said: ‘I don’t see fair and transparent conduct of next elections under President Asif Zardari and there will be a massive bloodshed if any bid is made to rig the polls’. PTI chief while acknowledging groupings in the party after the first successful show of the party last month in Lahore claimed that he would make efforts to make peace in the party ranks to save it from dents.

However, he defended emerging holes in the party by saying that differences among the mentioned groups in the party would strengthen the democratic norms. Commenting over opposition to the old faces among the party ranks, Imran while calling the old faces as ‘electables’ claimed that they could never overshadow the role of the founding members and diehard activists of the party. He said: ‘old faces are political heavyweights, however, I will not let any heavyweight to hijack the party’. Claiming PTI an ideological force, Imran maintained that party tickets would be awarded only to those aspiring candidates, who agree with PTI ideologssy and pass the scrutiny of party’s assets verification committee.

He maintained that he would not interfere in the decisions of the party’s Parliamentary Board and their decision would be the final, while the board would made decision keeping in view the findings of the committee and winning possibilities of the ticket aspirants. Imran while stating that Establishment could never control the PTI remarked that leaders of various ‘establishment-controlled parties’ were joining his party, as they know that no traditional political force could stop the tsunami of change, which was coming in the shape of PTI.

One of the major policy matters in Pakistan is its foreign policy, particularly related to India, Afghanistan, the US, Saudi Arabia and China. Imran stresses an equal relationship with the US, which is based on friendship. As said earlier, he has assured India of cooperation in the Mumbai attacks case but this cooperation goes against the traditional stance that Pakistan has maintained against India. He also needs to define a clear and workable foreign policy for Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and China.

Terrorism is the most intimidating issue that Pakistan is facing. Imran Khan talks about handling this issue through dialogue and by bringing the estranged groups/organisations into the mainstream, which I think is not practical considering the track record of these organisations and what they have done to the country and its inhabitants.

Imran needs to sort out and present a clear and workable solution for every problem in this country otherwise his tall claims will face the same end as faced by other political parties in the country. Allegations of corruption have resulted in the dismissal of many a government in Pakistan. Imran, too, suggests corruption as the root cause for many problems in the country. Let us see if he succeeds in meting out a solution for this problem that is affecting everyone. Imran Khan needs to go deep down, right down to the grass roots level, if he desires a change.

Posted in: Pakistan,Politics