Daily Times

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI’s) rally at Mazar-e-Quaid (Quaid’s mausoleum) in Karachi on the significant date of December 25 overshadowed the political arena. The use of cricket jargon has become a norm among the rival parties. The heightened political temperatures have defeated the bitter cold weather. It seems that the election campaign has already been initiated. The presence of a large number of people in the Karachi gathering evidently shows the sudden popularity PTI has gained in the recent past. Many past opponents are now joining the bandwagon, under the pretext of bringing about a change. The attendees of the rally seemed excited and viewed Imran Khan as a ray of hope and a messiah for their problems. The people, especially the youth, seem mesmerised by the name of Imran Khan and are advocating his views vehemently. Again the credit goes to Imran Khan to bring out not only the middle class, but also influence the people who belong to a slightly privileged section. But wait, have we overlooked something? Yes, it is again Imran Khan, only Imran Khan and not his party or any other individual in his party. We seem to have banked all our hopes, expectations and promises on one individual, while the fact is that an individual cannot run a country on his/her own.

Imran Khan is being termed as a ‘Captain’, who will usher Pakistan towards prosperity and success, if elected to power. Everyone recounts his famous World Cup victory and the construction of the cancer hospital. Although a very heartwarming concept, but what one has to realise is that even a captain requires a team. He had a team for the 1992 World Cup and he had a team for the cancer hospital also. A captain cannot carry out every function singlehandedly; rather he should have a competent team, who are also ready to follow him through thick and thin. So far, apart from a couple of prominent political names, I fail to see any proper team that will assist him during the course. The solution is not rhetorical statements of ending corruption in 90 days, which has been proclaimed by every incumbent administration, and failed miserably, but to understand the workings of the institutions and address their challenges accordingly. A functioning process of accountability and monitoring has to be established, where the activities of each institution are open and disclosed to public.

I do not want to give credence to the circulating rumours that certain quarters or the notorious ‘invisible hands’ are assisting Imran Khan in achieving his political ambitions, but I wonder then what has been fuelling all this popularity in the first place. Has this ‘tsunami’ materialised because he has emerged as a new hope, amid all the chaos and suffering for the people? Is it because the people have lost hope in the current political and administrative system and now demand a change? Or finally a political sense has actually developed and prevailed within society? The inclusion of the upper section of society is not new, rather it is evident from the events in the recent past, whether it was the issue of restoring the judiciary or the invoking of emergency, this section of society actively participated in the political movement. The question is again what are the interests involved of this particular section. They are not the members of PTI or have any direct link to it. These are the people who have dual nationalities and a backup plan available to them, if something goes wrong.

The people have to realise that they are the masters and the incumbent administrations work for them. The citizens have rights and in the constitution their rights have been acknowledged. They also have to realise that they cannot escape their responsibilities towards Pakistan by acquiring another nationality and assigning someone else the job of bringing the system on track. For the past 64 years, the problem that has persisted is not with the system but the lack of political sensitisation and absence of knowledge related to governance, judicial and executive setup, among the citizens of Pakistan. They have been herded as sheep by one element and the other. Everyone promises to uphold the democratic values and the interest of the citizens and the country, but the people end up paying the price for the promises, which have never been kept. The citizens are gullible, because they are unaware and this has been exploited by the ruling elites. Every time a new face has emerged — whether civil or military — promising change, the citizens have followed them and have always felt betrayed. The people demand change, but it can only be achieved when they themselves realise the difference between rhetoric and knowledgeable opinion upon governance issues.

It has to be comprehended that no single person, whether Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif or Gilani can bring about a change on their own. It is only if the citizens will become more proactive and take a stance on issues related to governance when the desired change will finally be achieved. It is the people who will have to step forward and hold the institutions and officials accountable for any transgressions. The people of Pakistan have been given a clear authority by the constitution, which has been stated as, “…It is the will of the people of Pakistan to establish an order.” Nothing better can explain the rights and responsibilities of the citizens of Pakistan. Again, I would stress that this will only possible when the people are not only aware of their rights, but also aware of the political and governance situation in Pakistan. Otherwise the change will only be a facelift, where perhaps same state of affairs will be in place under a new figurehead. The citizens have to get over the politics of charisma and rhetoric, while they should also move out of the habit of depending on others to correct the system for them. I do not know what this tsunami will leave in its aftermath, but what I hope is that when the time comes, the citizens will not make their decisions based on popularity.

The writer is a development consultant. She can be reached at coordinator@individualland.com