Daily Times

The upsurge of Khan was chronicled as messiah for the nation. Eventually, the Imran Khan led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) grappled the power centre after the July 25 General Elections. The young and the old alike were thrilled to finally be free of the orthodox political parties. The very political parties that looted the exchequers wealth and known as the hassle (or catch 22) of the system, as Imran Khan stated.

Now that Khan has had the steering in hand for the past five months, things are different. Gradually, the clouds of confusion clustered. The like-minded political pundits grilled the PTI over perceived ineptitude and ill-preparedness. Though, it is callous to expect fruitful results in such a cursory span. Nonetheless, one would await a plan, direction and a roadmap. It has remained absent. The clueless regime shaped-up the task forces to figure out the clue of forthcoming in power – or let’s just say ‘Naya Pakistan’. Yet the gravitas of the senior minister can be gauged with their statements in media. The ministers have a typical cow boy syndrome with a hunter to cuff off the opposition all-round the day.

Apart from this, Imran Khan had been articulating over de-politicization of police when he flumped on opposition benches. It was digestible because the citizens are conscious of our ‘thana culture’ (police station culture). The silver lining is that Khan asserted this in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and de-politicized the provincial police, which propelled more appeal.

The media which crusaded for Khan during his time in the opposition has been treated like a villain by the PTI regime

However, after Khan became Prime Minister, the nation looked on. From the DPO Rizwan Gondal case to Azam Swati case – and from the Azam Swati case to the Sahiwal incident. All followed the iterated ornament of politicization in police. Nasir Durrani, the poster boy of triumph in the KP police also stepped down as Head of Reform committee in the Punjab due to political intrusion. The Sahiwal incident was adequate for the PTI to deliver in accordance to campaign promises the way CTD carried the operation and cold bloodedly murdered the innocents is crystal clear. CTD attempted best to escape with the murder but citizen journalism exposed their intentions. The government has made symbolic arrests based on the nitty-gritty of the related JIT report’s findings. The PTI stance on corruption and accountability has also begun to appear gimmicky. Their slogans have begun to lack credibility and credibility lacks accountability. The leader of the opposition Shahbaz Sharif under NAB custody was appointed as PAC chairman. As it’s a parliamentary tradition, the initial posture of PM Khan was 100 percenterrorless that one under NAB durance cannot be a PAC chairman. Ordinaries applauded and stood along with PTI. Nevertheless, a threat from Opposition forced PM Imran to hand over PAC chairmanship to Shahbaz Sharif. Ultimately, PM Khan fell on a middle ground (or perhaps a deal) likewise retrospect regimes.

The PTI is now struggling to regulate the media. The media which crusaded for Khan during his time in the opposition hasbeen treated like a villain by the PTI regime. In that discourse, a concept paper is also endorsed from the cabinet. The paper suggests, hefty penalties (i.e Rs10 million or more) on media houses and journalists, formation of a tribunal instead of complaint cell and so on and so forth. According to the sources, it will be enforced through an ordinance (bypassing the parliament) which is going to be disastrous for the civilian regime. All media organizations (APNS, CPNE) have condemned this tainted law. In short, the PTI’s performance over the past five months has not been received well. It is clear to all the party is applying used formulas and maintaining the status quo. The conflict of interest (Mohmand Dam contract) was against PM Imran’s postulate. Unfortunately, the PM remained hushed. So, the government which cannot take resignation from Abdul Razzaq Dawood on conflict of interest doesn’t sound melodious while voicing on merit.

Despite being in power, the government is found either shooting from the hip to deviate from the core hiccups or asserting that “will do this and we will do that”. The perception of them lacking competence is growing day by day. All the while, Khan’s persona is at stake. If things continue this way, their will definitely be ramifications for the country. Pitch on the policy of ‘talk less and work more’ across the party. Or else keep fumbling and stumbling on the incumbent path and buttress the cognizance of ‘Change hasn’t changed’.

Published in Daily Times, February 4^th 2019.