One tweet and that was it. The newly elected Prime Minister (PM) expressed his condolences, on the demise of the former first lady and called it a day. Mentally, perhaps he is still on the pitch of a cricket ground. He feels that after all, it is his arch rival, Nawaz Sharif in pain and in grief. He deserves all the sufferings, as he has supposedly made the people of this country suffer, by multiplying his fortune, at their expense.
Khan’s narrative is way too straightforward, much like his comprehension and handling of some of the most complex situations, that our country faces. His newly elected President, Arif Alvi went an inch further by offering his condolences to the former Chief Minister (CM) and current Opposition Leader, who of course is the brother in law, of Late Kulsoom Nawaz. Though Mr Nawaz Sharif along with his daughter Maryam Nawaz and her husband were out on parole for almost five days.
This callous trend of heartlessness, lack of empathy and generosity are quite worrying. We have embarked on a crooked and fatal path of enmity among political opponents and that trend has not changed for the better. The ever-active social media from where the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) drives its strength, was spinning wild and crazy theories of her illness. Sadly, it was not an act and the former first lady who was terminally sick ended up succumbing to the disease.
Better sense should have prevailed at that juncture in time and Mr Khan should have instructed his party members to show sympathy and respect towards the departed. The former party spokesperson and the new Information Minister, was trying to portray ‘special consideration’ towards the accused. That ‘concession’ or ‘accommodation’ was to allow the incarcerated to attend her final rites. When in fact, parole, on a loved one’s death was their legal right to begin with. Such are the state of the affairs in our ‘New Pakistan’.
Worth mentioning here is the act, of the former Premier, Mr Sharif who decided to suspend his election campaign, when Mr Khan suffered serious injuries in an election rally in 2013. Most people recall him running to Rawalpindi almost immediately, when their then arch rival, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in 2007. These gestures have nothing to do with, whether you are a seasoned politician, or you a newbie.
For all these years, Imran Khan’s position has always been that his opponents have been taking turns to rob the country blind. To up the ante, he trained and conditioned his followers to such an extent that logic and reasoning often becomes a major impediment for them.
This callous trend of heartlessness, lack of empathy and generosity are quite worrying. We have embarked on a crooked and fatal path of enmity among political opponents and that trend has not changed for the better. The ever-active social media from where the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) drives its strength, was spinning wild and crazy theories of her illness
Such theatrics are good for political rallies and sit ins, when you are the potent opposition, trying to exert maximum pressure on the ruling party. However, four weeks ago that scenario changed. It is obvious and understandable, that Khan’s biggest challenge is to rid himself of the usual ‘attack mode’ of an opposition leader. The debate in this write up is not ‘how’ he became the PM. The undeniable reality, is that he is the elected Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Khan’s bloopers and those of his associates each day, indicate that these guys were trying to oversell themselves, all this time. Their comeback from every political embarrassment big or small is their lack of experience on a grander scale. A special request was made to the journalists, to allow them a probationary period of a hundred days, before unleashing their criticism.
Again, the blame goes back to Khan and his compatriots. When they were on the opposition benches, they fed the media frenzy by constantly keeping the prior government on their knees. Unfortunately, as they say it is payback time.
Everything’s not lost yet. Khan should change his style from being impatient and abrupt in his delivery to a calmer and much more refined orator. He is after all the Prime Minister of this nation and he must change the tone and tenor of his dealings; both domestic and foreign.
Moreover, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has suspended the judgment of his arch rivals in the Avenfield reference and allowed them to be released on bail. It is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate some grace and magnanimity. Without any further delay, he should head over to Jati Umra, to express his condolences with the Sharif clan and turn over a new leaf. This is an opportunity to demonstrate that he is willing to bury the hatchet in the personal arena and is ready to work with his political opponents for the betterment of the country.
The writer is a Pakistani-US mortgage banker. He can be reached at [email protected] and tweets @dasghar
Published in Daily Times, September 23rd 2018.