Daily Times

Look at these clichés:
“We strongly condemn…x atrocity…”. “ We have taken serious note….of Y disaster…” “We sympathise…with z sufferings…” “We cannot allow…..xyz…”

No such utterance means anything.

The suffering of the public continues and leaders stay busy in ‘completing’ their elected terms rather than admitting failure and gracefully tendering resignations. To admit failure is a quality of true leadership. Statements are not enough; a leader needs to deliver to the people. Most of Pakistan’s so called leaders only ‘deliver’ speeches and promises to people. (Some ‘deliver’ illicit cash to their kith and kin.)

This is the quality of leadership we have strengthened. Imran Khan is doing the same unfortunately. His party’s performance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is disappointing. Oppression of women has increased to the ridiculous extent of restricting their freedom even from going to bazaars. It is followed by a very violent jail break by the very Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that Khan cries hoarse to defend. He hides behinds the excuse of drone attacks, and ducks any joint APC or deliberation to control terrorism. Now his dear, ‘innocent’ TTP have broken into the jail in Dera Ismail Khan. The worst part is that the KP Home Secretary had advance warning about the planned attack and yet the TTP succeeded in getting more than 200 convicts out, including members of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and some of their own. At best what we will hear from the KP leadership will be that an enquiry has been ordered and some law enforcement personnel have been suspended. End of story. Nobody will hear anything more and the issue will get buried. The KP chief minister will move on to issuing the next ‘statement’.

A stark vacuum of leadership was evident in the election of the president of Pakistan. Imran Khan chose not to go along with the boycott. Later, he admitted his mistake. Earlier, he did not support Dr Tahirul Qadri and later admitted his mistake. He has the grace to admit a mistake but for how long? When will he start doing things right? If the opposition leaders had stood together then they could have got a president of their choice and succeeded in ensuring political checks and balances. Stark vacuum of leadership exists in the opposition.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership is in complete disarray. The PPP is a follower of the Bhutto brand. It chose to become dynastic and shifted from its ‘people’ orientation. Now it does not have a credible Bhutto to ‘ascend the throne’. What they have is a mix of Bhutto and Zardari and that may not work. Others like Khurshid Shah, Aitzaz Ahsan and Raza Rabbani fail the ‘Bhutto’ test.

Then the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). It is a smaller party but known for its discipline and continuous vote bank among the Urdu speaking Pakistanis. There has always been a whisper of their ‘mafia’ gangs who ensure the implementation of the party requirements by hook or by crook. Now the issues are surfacing and drastic changes have occurred. Even its charismatic leader is under the examination of the British police. The MQM has increasingly shifted from some of its principled stands and embraced opportunism for power, the latest example being their marriage of convenience with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to elect the president of Pakistan.

The ruling party, the PML-N, has a collection of the rich who have amassed wealth one way or the other. They have shown little capability in governance in the two earlier terms and now in their third term. The only bright spot is Mr Shahbaz Sharif’s interest in urban development, particularly of Lahore. It is a dynastic party like the PPP. Now the dynasty members are taking over completely. They are freely using helicopters and official entourages, and enjoying government-paid foreign trips. The family property holdings in the United Kingdom are phenomenal. The PML-N’s performance has exposed the poor quality of leadership much sooner than expected in its third term. Its expertise is in managing the election process to its advantage and that seems about all.

There is a host of other parties without a credible leader who can take the country out of the crisis. There is also the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML). The APML chief is the former president of Pakistan, Syed Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf is presently defending the plethora of legal cases instituted against him, and he was barred from contesting elections. Since the cases are sub judice, therefore it is not appropriate to comment on them. As such he is not available as a leader to fill the vacuum at present, but the fact is that a lot of people remember that they could buy a US dollar for rupees 60 as compared to Rs 105 now, petrol for Rs 50 a litre as compared to Rs 105 now and flour for Rs 30 as compared to Rs 40 and so on. The law and order situation was better, businesses were thriving, the public found living costs affordable, and the IMF loan was paid off.

This situation leaves the people of Pakistan with little choice. As a natural process, vacuums have to be filled. Who would emerge is a question the nation is faced with. Would the media, public, establishment, intellectuals, civil services, technocrats and specialists, all together, guide the present government to take the right decisions? Can they help the existing leadership to provide good governance and tide over the present crises? Of course we always need the help of the Almighty. The situation is serious and everyone has a role to play, and to keep the national interest above personal interests. In any case no miracle can be expected to change the situation overnight or in a short span of time. More patience and determination and a sense of responsibility from people as well as their chosen leadership is required. Rising above favouritism and personal loyalty factors and engaging competent individuals may provide a collective leadership to fill the vacuum at least partially.

The writer is the former CEO Pakistan National Council of the Arts; Chairman Fruit processing Industries; Chairman UNESCO Theatre Institute Pakistan and COO ICTV, USA. He is the author of Melluhas of the Indus Valley 8000BC to 500 BC. He can be reached at naeemtahir37@gmail.com