Daily Times

It is said that when the Roman Emperor Gaius Caligula was assassinated by the Praetorian Guard in 41 AD, the members of the Guard then spread out through the Palace until they found the late Emperor’s uncle, Claudius hiding behind a curtain. Upon finding him in such a startled and confused state, the Guardsmen rushed towards him and immediately declared him, their new Emperor. Historians write that even up until that moment, such had been the state of confusion and panic in the newly appointed Emperor’s visage, that he had not registered what had just happened. Claudius had been born with weak disposition: a limp, prelingual deafness and a terrible stammer. Upon Claudius having being appointed Emperor, it had been envisaged that his meek personality would ensure that he could easily be controlled by those he would rule. But history proved otherwise. Emperor Claudius is remembered as being one of the wisest and abled rulers of his time and his reign is regarded with much praise along with that of other great Roman Emperors such as Julius Caesar and Augustus.

In similar vein, our Chief Minister Punjab, Usman Buzdar joined PTI less than two months before the 2018 elections. After the PTI won a majority of the seats in the Punjab, it was thought that one of the senior-most party stalwarts, would be given the honour of being offered this top position in Punjab. But after many weeks of deliberations and discussions, a name emerged from the fold that no one-(at either the provincial or national level) had heard of: Sardar Usman Buzdar. So, this was how he became to be the PTI’s first Chief Minister of the Punjab. Many political commentators and writers since then have regarded his selection down to occultism or the alternative notion that he was the most favourable option for the party at that time which had grown rife with factionalism.

Over the past week alone, I have read so many articles by several experienced writers and columnists over the pall of gloom that had befallen over Punjab, following the issues of mis-governance by the Buzdar administration, which became exacerbated by the wheat shortage crises of late. A letter to the Prime Minister was written, which added to the media frenzy that there were marked divisions in the ruling party over the performance of Usman Buzdar. The rumour that Usman Buzdar’s powers as Chief Executive had been clipped and re-assigned to the Chief Secretary Punjab and the Inspector General Punjab by orders from the very top, added further fuel to the fire. Leading commentators and journalists continued to pen articles, warning that unless the Chief Minister was not replaced, the situation in the province would continue to deteriorate. The rumour mills also went into overdrive with the suggestion of a new deal between the Sharif duo and the powers that be, which meant that change in the political landscape of the province was imminent.

Just as Emperor Claudius was able to rule for thirteen year and nine months, and was finally able to prove his detractors and naysayers wrong, so should our incumbent Chief Minister Punjab be given that chance

Briefly addressing this, I must say that, never have I seen the media-(print, electronic and social) launch such a systematic campaign against any Chief Minister in the past as they have continued to do, since the election of Usman Buzdar as Chief Minister in August 2018. Even Dost Muhammad Khosa fared an easier run back in 2008. In this dogged persistence to bring down Buzdar, it has simply been forgotten that Sindh is being run by the PPP acolyte, Murad Ali Shah whose mismanaged administration that dates back to July 2016; has failed to address the many issues of the people of interior Sindh, Karachi and Hyderabad amongst other cities. The recent outbreak of Aids in the heartlands of Sindh makes one only wonder about the quality of healthcare available to the people of that province. One cannot forget the unabated violence that brought the city of Karachi to its heels in 2014 during the rule of his predecessor, Qaim Ali Shah. It was only after the many successful operations by the brave men of the Sindh Rangers that the gamut and circle of violence was finally broken and normalcy was achieved. As recently as last year, mounds of rubbish and waste-(approximately 250,000 tonnes) had started forming around residential areas in Karachi, which demonstrated a clear failure by those at the helm of Sindh. But there is nothing in the media of late, about Murad Ali Shah and his government’s failed policies. The intensity of its gaze, much like the eye of Lord Sauron-(for those of who are familiar with Lord of the Rings) remains fixated on Usman Buzdar.

Coming back to Punjab, yes I agree that Usman Buzdar does not wear knee-length Wellington boots to go water-trekking and does not wildly gesticulate his hands whilst giving speeches in a vain attempt to copy another leader from the past. In contrast, Buzdar is a different species altogether. He hails from a humbler background and is media-shy. He tends to work hard with sheer determination, but generating only one tenth the noise in the media, that his hat-adorning predecessor used to make. More importantly he represents the hopes and aspirations of the ‘common man’ of not just the South Punjab, but the whole of Punjab. Not being born with a golden spoon, he truly understands the daily struggles of the majority of those that he has been elected to serve. This is the reason why he was chosen by the Prime Minister as Chief Minister Punjab, and shall stay to serve.

After Imran Khan’s 22 years’ struggle, his party was finally elected to power, both nationally and in the two provinces of Punjab and KPK. The people across the country, who casted their vote for the respective PTI candidate in their area did so by and large, by voting for ‘Imran Khan’ and his policies as they believed him to be their lodestar. Ergo Imran Khan had-(and continues to retain) the prerogative to choose whomever he wanted to represent him and his party in the Punjab and that choice was Usman Buzdar.

I often wonder as to why us Punjabis are so fascinated by ‘strongman’ rulers of the Punjab such as Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Ghulam Mustafa Khar and Shahbaz Sharif, but fail to remember the accomplishments of those who were more able such as Malik Meraj Khalid, Hanif Ramay and Ghulam Haider Wyne. Our incumbent chief Minister clearly falls into the latter category.

In the past three and a half decades, the Sharif duo between themselves have been elected to power in the Punjab six times and enjoyed some twenty-one years in power in this province. But even at the conclusion of their last tenure that ended in May 2018, they had still failed to address the plethora of issues of the Punjab, such as basic education, healthcare, access to justice, food and energy crises as well as the acute water shortages. Instead their combined periods of government in the province were focused on large-scale construction projects, which were marred with many a corruption scandal. They did little to focus on human development. Contrary to that, the Buzdar administration has always been intent on spending public monies to better the system of education, healthcare and providing needful employment opportunities to the youth.

In contrast to the Sharif duo’s twenty-one year reign over the province, Usman Buzdar has only been in power for seventeen months. So, he should be given the chance to continue to serve and to fulfil his party’s manifesto promises. Just as Emperor Claudius was able to rule for thirteen year and nine months, and was finally able to prove his detractors and naysayers wrong, so should our incumbent Chief Minister Punjab be given that chance.

The writer is a barrister and a political activist