P T I - P a r l i a m e n t a r i a n s

salaried class and change their path and loyalty in politics The deviation has never served the country in the past and it would never do in the future

This time the major challenge for these runaway politicians ensconcing themselves in one new slanted version or the other of the PTI are going to face is that the PTI voter is attached tenaciously to the PTI Chairman Making any new party as an innovated or distorted version of the PTI weighs less than wooing voters of the PTI The real test of the runaway politicians would be on Election Day, but even before that they would gauge their relevance during the election campaign d r Q a i s a r r a s h i d

LI K E a runaway bride who has an option of arranging a new husband a runaway politician also has a right to embrace a new political arrangement The concept of runaway politicians is personified nowhere else but in Pakistan

The mother party remains the Pakistan Tehrik Insaf (PTI) Whereas one collection of the runaway politicians merges into the Istehkam-e Pakistan Party (IPP) of Jahangir Tareen the other gathering huddles around the PTI-Parliamentarians (PTI-P) of Pervez Khattak In a way, two provinces have given birth to two distorted versions of the PTI: the IPP (Tareen group) in Punjab and the PTI-P (Khattak group) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The runaway phenomenon indicates that political conviction of most politicians remains pliable Most abhor steadfastness They succumb to pressures and remain prone to blackmailing They remain inclined to opportunism coupled with political expediency, instead of adhering to any ideological underpinning The question is this: what law can they enact as law makers (after getting elected) if their standing is so susceptible to vicissitudes of life?

This is one of the reasons people lose faith in politics and consequently in the law-making process

Most laws are considered compromised, serving some people and occasions The consequent disconnect renders people dissociated from the state affairs

When a section of this disgruntled part somehow manages to go abroad they live there with hatred against the system This is why when the PTI raised the slogan of change and the rule of law in the country, most expatriate Pakistanis stood by the party The phenomenon was palpable after 2007

It is a norm in Pakistan’s political system that the salaried class tends to rule over the elected politicians One of the reasons could be that politicians come with their foibles which they keep on exposing to the pleasure of those who tend to peep into their affairs, public or private Bathrooms are wired up and bedrooms are bugged Corruption cases are an added menace

It is unfortunate that the would-be lawmakers or elected representatives succumb to pressure from the

A l e a d e r t h a t h e n e v e r w a s tion regarding the reason for losing the Premiership, Those who bring you in power can also remove you ” General Musharraf in this regard said that he was not a Prime Minister material meaning thereby that he was incompetent to hold that post Imran was undoubtedly one of those whom the establishment brought into power to promote its agenda of predominance in managing the state affairs and was destined to meet the same fate as his predecessors He enjoyed their support till the time he was found out to be incompetent and trying to wriggle out of the agreement with the establishment to work under its unchallenged supervision He clung to power so long as the establishment supported him but as soon as the latter decided to abandon its interference in the political affairs and remain apolitical his government met a predictable fate

If an anodyne appraisal of the three and half years rule of Imran Khan and the claims that he used to make before coming into power, and after his removal from the corridors of power three things stand out undisputedly He was an incompetent ruler a demagogue of the first order and an irreconcilable liar who took pride in taking Uturns on everything he said and considered it the quality of a great leader which he never was

Let us begin with what he told Mehr Bokhari in an PATH interview before coming to power about the overarching role of the Army

He said If I come to power I will never make excuses that the Army is not letting me do anything If it so, happens it means that I am incompetent What he said after losing power in this regard is “General Bajwa was a super king He made all the decisions and the government could not do anything without his permission”

What do you make of the foregoing claim and confession? Surely that he was incompetent according to his own words

He probably forgot that those who brought him into power would not let him have his way and could easily have him removed from power

When Zafrullah Jamali was removed from Premiership he told a journalist in reply to a ques-

Fake propaganda invariably has ephemeral impact and g ets exposed shor tly. Imran was the personification of power politics. Infact he took it to a higher level. That is why his claims for revolution fizzled out like a damp squib

During his rule he miserably failed in strengthening democratic norms and instead damaged democracy by not building a working relationship with the opposition which is the pivot of a democratic dispensation He transformed political rivalry into enmity and practiced politics of vendetta by instituting false cases against the leaders of the opposition parties which were never proven in the courts of law

Involving Rana Sanaullah in the drug-peddling case was the worst example of filthy politics, considering the fact that his government in the end admitted that it was a false case His government also filed a wrong reference against a judge of the Supreme Court which it later admitted was a mistake

Imran Khan introduced an element of violence in the Pakistani politics which has ultimately led to disintegration of his party and possibly an end to his political career The reference is to the attacks carried on the military installations on May 9 by the PTI workers instigated by PTI leadership including Imran himself The beeline of the former PTI leaders leaving the party and their accusing fingers towards Imran Khan for the tragedy has unraveled his satanic inclinations

The popularity that he regained after his exit from power for all the wrong reasons has evaporated in the thin air

A narcissist infected with delusional hubris was destined to meet this fate

In reply to his accusations against General Bajwa after being ousted from power the latter among other things has also said that Imran was a liar to the core

When I say that he was a demagogue of the first order and a persistent liar my contention is not based on my personal opinion but the false promises and lies that he has told and has been telling the nation There is an exhaustive litany of his lies and ploys to befool the people which cannot be covered in this discourse therefore I would focus on only a few unbelievable lies that he unashamedly uttered to dupe the people

These include:

Construction of five million housing units ; creation of 10 million jobs; keeping electricity at Rs 2 per unit; selling petrol at

What the incumbent government has done to strengthen the connection between the PTI Chairman and PTI voters is by filing more than 100 (fake) cases To add fuel to the fire the PTI Chairman has been banned from media appearances Hence, on the one hand, he has been busied into exonerating his name from the cases; on the other hand, his voice is almost muted in the mainstream media The strategy may be beneficial immediately to have encircled and squeezed the PTI Chairman but the tactic is counterproductive concomitantly in the sense that the PTI voters see their leader as a victim of the state oppression They may vent their feelings of retribution on the voting day This is where the runaway politicians see the chances of their extinction politically

After the tenure of this government is over the interim government may not proceed with the same restrictions to muzzle the voice of the PTI Chairman

Currently Pakistan is in the grip of international institutions which are keen to see democracy flourish They have tied their financial help, though it is a loan, to progress on the path of democracy The excuse that Pakistan is passing through a critical phase politically stands no more relevant The expatriate Pakistani community is quite vocal in educating the loan giving

T h e p o i n t i s s i m p l e : g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n s a r e ro u n d t h e c o r n e r

T h e i n c u m b e n t o u t g o i n g g ov e r n m e n t mu s t p l ay i t s c a rd s c a r e f u l ly, b e fo r e a ny c a rd b a ck f i r e s B y a d o p t i n g t h e r i g h t p a t h o r w ro n g w ay p o l i t i c a l ly, t h e P T I i s a r e a l i t y T h e P T I vo t e rs a r e s t i l l ch a rg e d T h e r e s e e m s t o b e n o e l e c t o r a l p l a c e fo r a ny d i s t o r t e d v e rs i o n o f t h e P T I – b e i t I P P o r P T I - P institutions on the prevalent ground scenario

Even if the Supreme Court is prevaricating on declaring the Army courts unlawful to try civilians for May 9 events trying civilians in the Army courts would change the trajectory of the country Pakistan would be labeled as a country where democratic norms are crumbly and the administrative system wobbly The consequent situation cannot be considered conducive to inviting foreign investment especially from the western democratic countries One-window operation through the Army may be appreciated by the countries which are not practising democracy but it may not be valued by the countries believing in democracy Pakistan has to make a choice

Many still overlook that the PTI Chairman has been demanding investigation into the events of May 9 before the state wields its ultimate coercive measures This point may not carry any weight in the eyes of the DG ISPR but it is valued in the eyes of international observers and commentators

The PTI has been set on the path of internal disintegration, but the practice may not serve much in the election year In principle, the state institutions, in whatever uniform are not empowered to disintegrate a political party under any ruse The misuse of the Punjab police as a Londi or Khadima to suppress the PTI has wasted all efforts and money spent on the image building of the police What is the purpose of merit in induction in the police if they are supposed to obey illegal orders afterwards? In fact, by indulging in politics the Punjab police have ruined the capital it had earned

It is known that cypher was a political gimmick launched by the PTI Chairman to prop up the party s dwindling popularity and to avenge the ouster of his party from government through a legitimate vote of confidence Nevertheless, the cypher is a bygone case Making the PTI Chairman disqualified on this account may destabilize the political system further

The point is simple: general elections are round the corner The incumbent outgoing government must play its cards carefully before any card backfires By adopting the right path or wrong way politically, the PTI is a reality The PTI voters are still charged There seems to be no electoral place for any distorted version of the PTI – be it IPP or PTI-P

The writer can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo com

E d i t o r ’ s m a i l

S e n d y o u r l e t t e r s t o : L e t t e r s t o E d i t o r Pakistan Today 4 - S h a a re y F a t i m a J i n n a h L a h o re P a k i s t a n E - m a i l : l e t t e r s @ p a k i s t a n t o d a y c o m p k L e t t e r s s h o u l d b e a d d re s s e d t o Pakistan Today e x c l u s i v e l y

Dar winian approach marks our behaviour

I and my family recently visited Pakistan during the holidays and had experiences and observations that left us pondering over the state of affairs prevailing in the country It is interesting and ironic that our visit was in part initiated by the efforts the government is making to promote overseas Pakistanis to contribute to the economy by sending remittances and by spending their vacations in the country of their birth

Rs 45 per litre; committing suicide instead of asking for loans and going to IMF; repatriating the stolen money; building Pakistan on the model of Reyast-e- Madina; not employing a person like Sheikjh Rasheed even as a peon; No amnesty scheme; introducing police reforms; not accepting turncoats and electables; not to indulge in politics of U-turns and claiming that he would not make an alliance with the MQM as doing so would be the biggest hypocrisy He did exactly the opposite of these pledges

Those who brought him into power projected him as the ultimate hope for the nation for a positive transition from an exploitative system to a welfare-oriented system of governance ensuring a better future for the teeming millions and terming it a revolution for ‘Naya Pakistan’ This caught the fancy of many who yearned for change This feeling and impression was reinforced through a well organized and extensive network of social media warriors who persistently focused on denouncing the prevailing system and dubbing the rulers thieves and exploiters who were solely responsible for the prevailing catastrophic circumstances The punch line of this entire propaganda was that the only person who could winch the country out of the mess it was stuck into was Imran Khan and anybody who opposed his narrative was corrupt and unpatriotic History bears irrefutable testimony to the fact that the fancies and whims of certain leaders assumed the shape of larger national interests and mass hysteria was at times marketed as the national pride and honour as they plunged their nations into horrible catastrophes

The promised revolution failed because the leaders of the professed revolution, including Imran Khan, lacked the characteristics of revolutionaries Though with the help and support of their mentors and persistent propaganda they created the urge for change in the hearts of millions by shaking their faith in the existing institutions they did not have the alternative to consolidate the gains of this promised revolution Fake propaganda invariably has ephemeral impact and gets exposed shortly Imran was the personification of power politics Infact he took it to a higher level That is why his claims for revolution fizzled out like a damp squib

As responsible citizens, we paid heed to the call and embarked on a holiday to spend time at our home in Karachi, reconnect with our roots and make our humble contribution to the local economy by bringing in the much-needed foreign currency

However our enthusiasm quickly turned into frustration when we discovered a fundamental issue plaguing our very own neighbourhood the absence of water in the main supply lines Despite numerous inquiries, we were informed that the water indeed was reaching the main pipes, but was being consumed entirely by our neighbours who possessed powerful water-suction pumps and had two water connections for the same house that they had ‘somehow’ arranged through the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) leaving us dry and disheartened

It was disheartening to witness how Pakistani society has devolved into a constant battle for resources It is reminiscent of Darwin s theory of the survival of the fittest With a burgeoning population and limited resources, it seems that only the strongest species can thrive in this survival-of-thefittest scenario

One of our relatives who owns an export-oriented garment factory does not receive even drinking water from the water connection at house for the last 15 years even though he has been paying water bills regularly every month during all these long years

Perhaps it is time for Pakistan to embrace a Chinese-style Social Credit System to ensure that everyone receives their rightful portion of resources based on their social behaviour An all-encompassing artificial intelligence (AI) system could make decisions on behalf of the people fairly allocating resources for the betterment of society Furthermore the introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) could monitor everyone s resource usage allowing them to survive in a resourceconstraint country

Regrettably, one thing is certain; our children, who eagerly anticipated their summer vacation in Pakistan, will not be inclined to visit again in the near future It is disheartening to witness the dwindling appeal of our homeland due to such fundamental challenges

I believe it is crucial for the authorities concerned to address these pressing issues to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable experience for both citizens and visitors alike Let us strive for a Pakistan where resources are distributed equitably, where the pursuit of survival does not overshadow the pursuit of progress

With a family background in textiles, I personally know of thousands of weaving factories lying shut for the last many months These units part of the larger umbrella of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) apparently have no future to look forward to

The solution is simple and just The SMEs are merely asking for equitable treatment in electricity pricing They just want a level playing field, and are more than willing to pay the same price as is applicable to the large units

Currently, they have to pay three times more than the privileged, lucky, blessed large units It is only natural that they have pulled the shutters down The owners may still survive in the short term owing to their savings and investments but what about the workforce?

It is only through collective efforts and commitment to justice that we can hope to overcome the current economic crisis and build a prosperous future for Pakistan and for all the Pakistanis