Daily Times

It seems that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has decided not to deviate from his own beaten path. Unfortunately, the PTI leader’s one true consistency has been his penchant for issuing grandois and sweeping generalised populist rhetoric without an ounce of explanation how these seemingly magical deeds are to be accomplished. In his talk with the media after the PTI’s Central Executive Committee meeting in Islamabad, Mr Khan vowed to bring the army and its intelligence agencies under his control if elected as prime minister. He blamed corrupt politicians for the army’s constant interference in government affairs and pledged that he would resign if the directives of his elected government were not followed. He also reinforced the possibility of his party’s alliance with other ‘like-minded’ political parties and politicians in the upcoming days.

Mr Khan’s politics seems to be revolving around ideals that in reality are hard to materialise, especially in the absence of a clearly chalked-out plan by his party on how to deal with the issues, problems and conflicts confronted by the country. Before Mr Khan, many other politicians have also been trying to minimise the army and the ISI’s interference in the government’s affairs but to no avail. How Mr Khan would restrict the military establishment from poking its nose in the matters of his party-led government calls for further and satisfactory explanation. The solution of this longstanding issue needs more than moral courage. The army’s penetration in the country’s governing system is hard to remove. Perhaps constantly being touted as the establishment’s boy by the PML-N has induced Mr Khan to issue such statements about his approach to the army and the ISI. The PTI’s negotiations with ‘like-minded’ political parties seem set to result in an alliance with the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), a party which is known for its ‘established’ links with the establishment. The JI has been using its huge electoral weight to manage its stakes in the country’s affairs since decades. How does Mr Khan plan to wade successfully through this alliance is another question. Considerably flying high after holding a successful public meeting in Lahore recently, Mr Khan’s ingenious habit of making tall claims also expressed itself quite well in his latest interview with Karan Thapar for CNN-IBN. Responding to a question, he announced that in his government no militant group would be allowed to operate from Pakistan. While arguing for tackling the massive issues arising from militancy, he shared deweaponisation as a simple recipe. The matter of disarming the militant groups is indeed easier said than done. Mr Khan should keep in his mind that these criminal elements in Karachi and FATA are not people who would willingly surrender their arms on the orders of his government. They are well organised, politicised, fanatical and criminal terrorist groups. The issue is far too complex to be resolved so easily by Mr Khan’s pledges. However, when asked about the banned militant organisation, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its leader Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind behind the Mumbai attacks, the PTI chief made no commitment of action against them. Mr Khan’s pro-Taliban and anti-war on terror policy is well known. He should also come up with a clear-cut policy statement about the banned militant organisations like the JuD and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), etc. He should make his policy known about the sectarian and other militant groups who want to impose their own brand of Islam in the length and breadth of the country. Mr Khan’s sans intelligence agencies vision for Pakistan-India relations in his government reflects his misunderstanding of the intelligence agencies’ role, which is important as countries use these outfits to keep an eye over their interests in other countries irrespective of their status as friends or foes.

Mr Khan’s political approach is superficial and impractical as it lacks in-depth understanding of the issues. The argument that a large number of urban youth is following him for his policies is doubtful. Former cricketer Imran Khan’s popularity is not the result of his brilliance as a politician. In fact, it is a reflection of the youth’s political alienation, which is completely disoriented, fed-up and disenchanted by corrupt politicians. In Imran Khan they see a glimmer of hope. The PTI’s chief has to do his homework and planning to meet the expectations of his electorate. With mere tall claims minus serious, logical and result-oriented content, Mr Khan seems to be going nowhere.*