Daily Times

Imran Khan knows how to work the crowds. That much has never been in doubt. And it was the same story at the weekend when he unveiled his party’s commitment to the people of Pakistan for the first 100 days of a PTI government.

As expected. This is an ambitious plan that falls rather short on substance. Though to be fair, Khan is right when he stresses that a nation’s progress is not measured by the number of upscale housing societies but by accountability and tackling corruption as well as investing in education. Thus the less said about Jahangir Tareen, the better.

Be that as it may, there was talk of creating 10 million jobs within five years; constructing 5 million new houses; of providing quality education for all; of promoting manufacturing and thereby paving the way for speedy growth of small- and medium-sized businesses. Similarly, there were promises of improving Karachi’s security situation; of ensuring that the country’s poorest districts are brought on a par with others. When it came to women, the PTI chairman vowed to protect their rights. And so on and so forth.

In other words, the 100-Day plan lacks in detail. There was no mention of how to realise any of this in practical terms. Thus there has been no outlining of enforcement mechanisms of any sort. It therefore seems that Khan has not learned the lessons of his last defeat where he talked big but stumbled and fell when it came to walking the walk.

Nevertheless, the reaction of his political rivals has been somewhat surprising. So work up about it all was the incumbent PMLN that it scheduled a press conference to respond to the former cricketer’s throwing down the gauntlet; before duly postponing it. Even Khursheed Shah, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, seems to be suffering from a case of ruffled feathers. For the PPP’s traditional voice of measured reason went as far as to term the 100-Day plan tantamount to pre-poll rigging.

All of which suggests that the time has come for Pakistan’s political parties to reach consensus on how to conduct debate that is an essential part of electioneering.

A good place to start would be setting a final date by which all parties publish election manifestos. For an informed citizenry holds the key to democratic dispensation. Next, should come allotted spaces whereby each party is to give its final election broadcast. All messages should run at an equal and fixed length. What should not happen is those wishing to run the country for the next five years being allowed to hold press conferences willy nilly to try and outdo rivals. It is important that the last leg of election campaigns be conducted in a coherent and cohesive manner.

Yet what Pakistan presently has is anything but. There are no completed manifestos anywhere to speak of. The brouhaha that has been prompted by PTI’s 100-Day plan should be an embarrassment to all. Not least because it does not even touch on what a full year of a Khan government might look like. Let alone an entire five-year tenure. And this is the best that is on offer. Pakistanis surely deserve better.  *

Published in Daily Times, May 22^nd2018.