Daily Times

Considering Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vindication of his innumerable U-turns on his core political ideology, the term ‘honesty’ in Pakistani politics has lost its relevance. For when the torchbearers of change provide alibis for their unprincipled acts then nothing is left to feel sanguine about. In other words it’s tantamount to the end of optimism in the land of pure as IK was considered to be the last hope. The reason behind pinning hopes on him was his uprightness and ability to call a spade a spade.

Moreover, the recent developments demonstrated that IK has wronged the Pakistani youth by showing them greenish dreams. He kept the youth in an utopian world which has nothing to do with the ground realities of our country. Resultantly, the minds of youngsters are seized with utmost expectation in terms of transparent governance, nonexistence of nepotism, equal rule of law and meritocracy.

The crux of the matter is that IK’s attempt to rationalise his U-turns is a sheer betrayal of his diehard followers’ trust, who expected dearly from him in terms of correcting the system that breeds corruption. By going back on his words IK has put out the last glimmer of hope that Pakistanis had

Presently, when IK assumed the saddle then all he has to offer was a justification for taking U-turns. Moreover, he reasoned that a leader who doesn’t take U-turn isn’t even a leader. Here the words of Nelson Mandela needs to be quoted who said “ For anybody who changes his principles depending on whom he is dealing, that is not a man who can lead a nation”. The words of Mandela nullifies IK’s vindication of his uncountable U-turns.

To add to it, some well-read people confuse Ik’s compromise on his principles as a tactical retreat, which is sheerly wrong. The tactical retreat could happen without compromising on core political principles and ideology for which Ik entered into politics. But the U-turn philosophy is downright negation of leader’s moral standards.

The crux of the matter is that IK’s attempt to rationalize his U-turns is a sheer betrayal of his diehard followers’ trust, who expected dearly from him in terms of correcting the system that breeds corruption. By going back on his words IK has put out the last glimmer of hope that Pakistanis had. Now people are left with the only choice of looking back to the already tested guns and it can be termed as humiliating defeat of the expectants of change.

The writer can be contacted at asifmahsud44@yahoo.com

Published in Daily Times, December 25^th 2018.