Imran Khan used the slogan of “change” successfully and his PTI became the third largest party in Pakistan. His election success cannot be attributed to this alone; the PPP’s performance during its five-year term helped. How much change he will bring in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remains to be seen. For Imran Khan, a positive strategy would have been to concentrate on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where his party is in charge and demonstrate good governance. The PML-N on the other hand is following the same strategy of visible development: construction of underpasses, roads and public transport. One may object to PML-N priorities but this has worked for them in the past and they think it will work again. In addition, Nawaz Sharif’s government has the energy crisis to solve. Imran Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and PML-N in Punjab could have begun positive competition instead of mudslinging. This in itself would have been a positive change and would have put pressure on the governments in Sindh and Balochistan to improve their performance. Alas this was not to be. “A bird in hand is better than two in the bush” is not what Imran Khan believes. Intolerance and impatience are hallmarks of our nation as is evident in the way we drive on our roads. Agitation politics, long marches and dharnas (sit-ins) are not new to us. We witnessed them throughout the 1990s after which a lesson was learnt by Nawaz Sharif, allowing the PPP to complete five years in power. The PPP is reciprocating by staying away from the PTI’s ‘independence march’. This is the positive change that has come about through a process. The people of Pakistan have seen a lot of turmoil and find the country always standing at a crossroads. We have moved but not forward, just from one crossroads to another. While the army is fighting a battle to secure Pakistan’s future, our politicians are engaged in a different battle that is taking attention away from the daily sacrifices of our security forces — exactly what the enemy in North Waziristan is hoping for.There are two types of voters for Imran Khan. One is the diehard, young and energetic PTI supporter who will vote for the PTI no matter what. The other is the educated middle class that genuinely believed they had found a leader who would not accommodate traditional politicians and bring in new and sincere people to turn politics towards a positive direction. This was evident from the first big PTI rally in Lahore that was attended by thousands of people from the middle and upper-middle class. It was after this rally that politicians from other parties turned to the PTI. The first disappointment came when, contrary to Imran Khan’s assertions, traditional politicians from other parties were given preference over newcomers. Both types of supporters still stuck to Imran Khan as they believed in his sincerity, honesty and dedication for bringing about the promised change. The PTI was rewarded by becoming the third largest party in the 2013 elections. Imran was a new hope for Pakistanis and they voted for him despite their disappointment at seeing typical politicians in his party. This was the confidence of the people of Pakistan in a man who had won them the cricket world cup and had established a cancer hospital. After the elections there was hope that the government at the Centre and in the provinces would complete five years in office. This was realistic as the PPP had set a precedent by completing its five-year term. People wanted to see politicians getting to work and delivering on the promises they had made.There are a lot of problems with the present system: our democracy is far from ideal, politicians are rightly criticised by many and Imran Khan was correct in criticising them before. However, after forming his government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the situation changed. The PTI has a platform to exhibit its prowess in governance. Its goal-post is now clear: performance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the sole benchmark by which it will be judged. Imran should prove that his province is better governed than Punjab. Criticising others will not bring the change that he promised. His stance is becoming increasingly belligerent. His latest demand is to oust the government, followed by midterm elections. This is not change; it is a reversion back to the 1990s. Throughout the 1990s, the PPP and PML-N played agitation politics against each other at the behest of the establishment. They were successful in getting each other dismissed twice and realised later who the beneficiary was. They have moved forward a step and respect the people’s mandate. This was a small change, a step in the right direction. Before the elections Imran Khan repeatedly stressed the need to reform the police, lower judiciary, the patwari (land magistrate) system and to devolve power to union councils. We have so far seen no significant moves in this direction. Has he forgotten the promises he made before elections, as is always done by other leaders? With the 18th amendment to the constitution, Imran Khan has a golden opportunity to lead and, instead of agitating and creating turmoil, expend his energies on institution building in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, strengthening his base and building on it. The PML-N established itself as a political force partly by the construction of motorways, roads and underpasses. For the people it was a change as no other government has ever spent as much as the PML-N on these projects. This was visible change but Nawaz Sharif should also realise that this trick will not work forever. Good governance (the elusive dream) is possible only with strong institutions. One fails to understand how the independence march on August 14 will bring the government down. The army is in no mood to intervene. Even if it decides to step in, provided the situation reaches a point where the army has no other option, it will not follow the PTI’s schedule regarding mid-term polls and other demands. How long will a dharna in Islamabad go on? The government will not resign because of a long march. No other political party has joined the PTI. Imran Khan’s best bet is to work within the system. He has pressured the government enough to bring the changes in the electoral system that he wants. Electoral reforms and local body polls would be a good achievement. The projects the PML-N has initiated will start to mature after three or four years and, if Nawaz’s government does not go astray with incidents like the Gullu Butt fiasco, it will have enough material to ask for votes. At the moment, it looks like the PTI is only depending upon the strategy of toppling the government and going for mid-term polls. Apart from diehard supporters, Imran Khan’s voters are swayable. He will have to show them his achievements when election time comes. Is Imran Khan ready for that? It may be too late if he waits any longer. Voter sympathy in Punjab will only switch when they see more development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa than in Punjab. The time may be right to change the strategy for bringing the change the PTI promised. Dig in for the long haul. This is good for the country. What is good for Pakistan is good for us all. The writer is a freelance columnist