Daily Times

Pakistan Today (July 1, 2020) has reported that “Imran Khan knows more than anyone else that those who brought him to power are getting increasingly frustrated with his lack of performance. Despite having the full support of all the agencies and departments of the government, the PTI administration has miserably failed to resolve every crisis that it has faced. After nearly two years in power, the PM cannot get away with accusing the past governments or the mafias in the country for his failure to deliver.”

Therefore, the rumor is that some members of PTI are planning to get rid of Imran Khan (minus one) as a premier. Some in the PTI and others believe that Imran Khan is incompetent to be premier. Anyone with average intelligence should have realized that he lacks experience and, probably, intelligence. Sadly, I have been saying this for months. To be sure that everyone knew about the ability of Khan, I published an Op-Ed “Imran Khan at the Helm: Pray for Pakistan” in Daily Times on January 23, 2020. In the Op-Ed, I wrote, “I have referred to Khan as too naive to ask tough questions when his sycophants suggest policies to benefit themselves. Besides the bad economic policies he has decided to follow, which will put Pakistan into bankruptcy sooner than later, now he has decided to defang the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) through an ordinance.”

I can cite specific examples of how the sycophants have used him by spending money on projects that accomplished nothing and how he has made it possible for them to steal money legally. For example, a leaked report about the “sugar mafia” disclosed alleged involvement of Khan’s key associates and cabinet members in creating an artificial sugar shortage crisis in the country last year, in the process earning themselves huge sums of money. Unfortunately, either Khan has no clue that these sycophants are enriching themselves, or he is looking the other way.

In his speech (July 1, 2020) to the National Assembly, Khan said a number of mafias and cartels were operating in the country. He said that when the government started an inquiry into the sugar scam, “we came to know that a handful of people” were making windfall profits. He did not identify the “handful of people.” Who are they? Is the report wrong in alleging that they were your key associates and cabinet members? Why don’t you tell the country?

If it is true that your associates and cabinet ministers stole the money, you are responsible for changing the NAB’s ordinance, which allowed politicians and bureaucrats to steal up to Rs 50 crore without being investigated and charged for corruption. In my Op-Ed, mentioned above, I warned the people about the consequence of the ordinance change. That further proves your incompetence about not knowing the consequences of changing the ordinance.

the rumor is that some members of PTI are planning to get rid of Imran Khan (minus one) as a premier. Some in the PTI and others believe that Imran Khan is incompetent to be premier. Anyone with average intelligence should have realized that he lacks experience and, probably, intelligence

In his speech, Khan (July 1, 2020) claimed that the only solution available to us to bring Pakistan out of trouble is to reform the government. He said there could be no more tinkering with the system and that people needed to be ready for drastic changes. He further said, whenever we go for changes, the beneficiaries of a corrupt order will resist it. What you should have said is that every Pakistani will resist. I guess this is another promise you will never be able to keep. I will give another 10 years (if you are still PM) to bring about any (I mean any) positive change. As usual, someone told you to tell another lie, and you took it hook, line, and sinker without realizing the enormity of the task. Such action shows how naive you are and are used by your sycophants for their benefit. Good luck, if you survive.

In his speech, (July 1, 2020), Khan admitted, “The money that should have been spent on education, health, clean drinking water, hospitals and on the welfare of the poor is being poured into loss-making (state) institutions, such as the power sector, Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), and Pakistan Railways.” The question people should ask is, who was in charge of the government for the last almost three years. Didn’t you know that these dinosaurs were operating under your nose? I guess you may claim you were asleep at the switch. I, an outsider, just published an Op-Ed (July 1, 2020) “PIA: Save it from its Miseries,” telling everyone in Pakistan that there is no future for PIA and someone, with guts, should pull the plug to save PIA and the country from more losses, another disaster, and embarrassment. This further proves my point that you, Khan, are incompetent. If you could not reform any of these dinosaurs and kept on pouring money into them, how can you reform anything? I say good luck on reforming the government.

The website DW.com (August 2019) states that “Khan’s supporters agreed on his prescription for treating the ills of Pakistan’s economy and polity: i.e., moral answers to material questions and administrative solutions to structural problems.” However, neither of those treatments has materialized. Instead of providing relief to the public, you provided misery. To show his naivety, Khan has said (BBC, June 2020), “I will never forget how we Pakistanis were embarrassed when the Americans came into Abbott Abad and killed Osama Bin Laden, martyred him.” Khan used the word martyr or “shaheed,” meaning dying for a holy cause. By saying this, obviously, he is appealing to the Islamists and the military in Pakistan. However, I do not know whether he realized that with this statement, he insulted the military, which claimed to have no idea that the raid was happening right next door to the army’s leading officers’ training academy. Sadly, Khan forgot that Bin Laden had murdered many innocent children, women, and men during his reign of terror. For his information, these included Pakistanis, Afghanis, and other nationalities.

Meena Gabeena (BBC, Jun 2020), a high-profile Pakistani activist, wrote on Twitter: “Muslims all over the world are struggling because of the discrimination they face due to recent terrorism and our PM makes it worse by calling [Osama Bin Laden] a martyr of Islam!”

The writer is PhD. (USA) and Professor Emeritius (USA)