Daily Times

Amongst all the Prime Minister’s (PM) this country has ever had, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) is considered one of the very best. He is considered to be in the same league as Pakistan’s first and fifth PMs Liaqat Ali Khan and Hussain Shaheed Suharwardy. His governance set high standards, with immaculate paper work. The files always kept moving, with his personal noting. Bureaucrats could not hide behind red tape, and were always forced to deliver. Since him, no PM has written a single word on any file.

ZAB entered the PM house with no dirty laundry. He had a new team, which got to work from day one. They could take on the inertia of the status-quo head on. The PM secretariat worked around the clock, every ministry had a night section officer in case a query had to be answered. Every file was returned with decision or instructions within twenty four hours. In the words of Dr Mubashir Hasan, ZAB’s finance minister, “We thought our orders would be carried out but it was not the case”. Eventually ZAB was also trapped in picking up a team with dirty laundry. When the crunch time came, there was no one to fight for him.

Three time PM Mian Nawaz Sharif however, always came to power burdened by his dirty laundry. After four years when he was removed on charges of corruption, he was still in the ‘clean up’ process. Now he is promising to deliver if he is given another chance. This has been the case for every PM that has occupied this pivotal position after ZAB. It reminds me of an Indian song Ram teri Ganga maeli ho gai, Papiun kay pap dhotay (there was so much dirt of the sinners that the water of the Ganges got contaminated).

By now, the PM’s office must be contaminated. Every new comer seems to bring more evil, that eventually has to be warded off. Now Imran Khan seems poised to occupy this coveted position. If he is successful, a lot of the old guard will enter the corridors of power with him. The watch and ward will start from his first day in office. The challenges of change that he has promised will be bogged down by the required cleansing, as has been the norm since 1977

By now, the PM’s office must also be contaminated like the Ganges River. Every new comer seems to bring more evil that has to be warded off. Now Imran Khan seems poised to occupy this coveted position. If he is successful, a lot of the old guard will enter the corridors of power with him. The watch and ward will start from his first day in office. The challenges of change that he has promised will be bogged down by the required cleansing, as has been the norm since 1977.

For meaningful change, a fresh start has to be made, which the old guard cannot deliver. But then there are the limitations of electoral politics. One requires 172 seats to come into power, this is where the electables become important. It is a numbers game, which Khan has finally seems to have understood. Once in power, the real challenge will be to deliver.

A meaningful approach can be adopted to achieve a balance between electoral victory and fulfilment of campaign promises. Imran Khan’s credibility will be tested at the highest level of authority. The first 100 days usually set the tone of the government, after which the honeymoon is over. PTI was the first party that prepared a detailed first 100 days plan before the 2013 elections, which has been updated for 2018.

In parliamentary democracy, the legislature should be strong, focused on policy making, a small cabinet can then oversee implementation. Too much interference in bureaucracy is always counter-productive

So far no one has been able to deliver. After being elected with the thrust of the electables, Khan can enter the PM House with a fresh team, leaving the electables on the treasury benches. It will also be a test for them, as most of them claim to have been reformed. This claim must be put to the test by Khan when he picks up his cabinet. He has a reputation of being ruthless in team selection. His success as ‘Kaptaan’ on the cricket pitch and the health and education sectors has been because he picks team members based on merit alone, which should not be compromised in politics if he desires to make a difference.

Apart from the Chief Minister (CM), the team in KP is both new and clean. Most of the thirteen cabinet members and four advisers are first-time office holders. Lack of experience can be compensated for by guidance and hard work, but old habits die hard. The unlearning process is cumbersome while learning is much faster.

In parliamentary democracy, the legislature should be strong, focused on policy making, a small cabinet can then oversee implementation. Too much interference in bureaucracy is always counter-productive. In KP, this approach has been tried successfully. On August 15, 1947 Quaid-e-Azam took oath from a six member cabinet after a thorough search of their credentials. Under the new constitution of 1973, the Quaid-e-Awam announced a thirteen member cabinet of squeaky clean, able individuals who worked very hard to rebuild what remained of Jinnah’s Pakistan.

Imran Khan is still determined to build his ‘Naya Pakistan’, which calls for a different approach in team selection. On May 1, 2010, PTI was the first political party to announce a sixteen member shadow cabinet consisting of highly qualified professionals, perhaps the ablest team ever to run the country. Following the traditions of Jinnah and Bhutto, I am sure Imran Khan will pick up the best team to enter the PM House. The legislature should be the final screen beyond which there should be honesty and integrity, essentially needed to understand, reform and then lead the non-performing executive branch of the government. Electability should be limited to the legislature only, it has no place in the PM House, and neither does dirty laundry.

The writer is Ex-Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be reached at fmaliks@hotmail.com

Published in Daily Times, May 24^th 2018.