Will PTI sweep the coming elections? Ask this question and the answers will usually rest on the extreme ends of the scale depending on the individual’s political posturing. Realistically, both beliefs may be equally prejudiced assumptions. The beliefs and assumptions come from ‘fan-boys’ or ‘Khan-phobics’; and that is just the sort of attention Imran Khan and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) attract.
Week after week editorials on Khan and the PTI have filled the papers; more often than not, they read a little like an astrology column letting one peep into the future with the writer’s personal lens. The favourable ones have to mention him as the next prime minister-in-waiting. The unfavourable ones will make you believe he is still captaining the cricket team with no knowledge of politics, with a rainbow of ad hominems garnished with twisted quotes sprinkled on it. To be fair, it has since shifted from the point when the Khan-bashing was considered intellectually fashionable to now a monotonous whining with lazy research.
Somewhere between the colourful and dramatic analyses with predictions and forecasting, solid realities remain overshadowed. Let us have look at what Imran Khan and the PTI have already achieved and where they missed. No assumption or predictions, just facts.
In the aftermath of the mammoth October 30, 2011 rally the PTI has done more and worked harder but it was not seen to fully capitalise on it. Yes, it was up against two political parties entrenched in the system and sitting in government; media-building perception was hardly favourable and it lacked government funds or machinery to capture the attention. Still, this should have been preempted and an adequate strategy applied to make sure people were aware of what was being done.
The period also saw an array of people joining and leaving; to be able to balance politicians with a constituency with the politically novice or the ‘ideological’ with the mainstream must have been an uphill task, and it showed. This kind of confusion does not always sit well with the public.
Then, and perhaps most importantly, there has been a stretch with the dissolved local bodies during the prolonged intra-elections phase; this is in the year of general elections. It led to a pause in political activities at grass root level and that was to reflect in opinion polls. In contrast, the other political parties were using the time trying to strengthen themselves with whatever (cough!) alliances that could be made.
However, no matter how damaging the aforementioned could have been to the party itself, I cannot think of one action that may have adversely affected the national discourse. It can be argued that the PTI was not in the position to do so but take a moment to consider the achievements and how it goes beyond the person and the party.
Intra-party elections: a political party with open membership and people directly electing their own representatives. Some may argue about its timing, and that it is yet to be seen what immediate benefits it holds for the party; no argument can take away from the fact that it is a step in the right direction that truly embodies the principles of democracy. Interesting results have come out from regions where it has been held; 80,000 elected representatives (almost one-third women) will take oath on March 23. This is unheard of not only in Pakistan, but in the subcontinent. It has certainly raised the bar for the other ‘crusaders’ of democracy and they will not be able to resist the demand for this ‘unthinkable’ for long.
Policy papers: The PTI has to date given out a detailed plan on education, economy, health, energy, youth, Local Government, environment, industry & skill development and anti-corruption. There are more policies to follow and these are living documents but to see a political party prioritise doing its homework, explaining and putting ‘how it plans to deliver’ open for critique is undoubtedly a huge leap forward from mere political sloganeering.
Accountability: The PTI not only started the debate on ‘political corruption’ but has also made public its entire top leadership’s assets and tax returns. All ticket aspirants must disclose all their assets and liabilities in Pakistan or abroad held either in personal, spouse or children’s name. In a country that must make itself financially viable and where misuse of public funds is sighted as one of the biggest reasons behind tax evasion, transparency is not just a welcome gesture but a necessary one. Each time an opponent accused Khan of financial failings, there has been a press conference with him clarifying armed with documents. He did not wait for it to be brushed under the carpet. He walked his talk and set the tone; people’s representatives are answerable and accountable. It has led to other political parties’ leadership’s assets being questioned; how were they acquired? Have they been fully disclosed? How much taxes have they paid? Why is their wealth stacked abroad?
Empathy: Yes, empathy; that all important emotion that anyone who aspires to serve a nation should have but has consistently been absent. Those taken to the corridors of power by the people were seen missing from the scene when calamities struck their people. Be it showing solidarity with the affected of the Baldia factory fire in Karachi; Hazaras’ killings in Quetta; Shia killings in Gilgit; houses of Christians torched in Lahore; condoling with families of the Salala attack; taking a Peace March to Waziristan to highlight the plight of the tribesmen caught between militancy and military whilst being bombed by drones and so on, Khan leads his party from the front and with him everyone’s attention. People did notice that Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf only flew over the Baldia factory or reached the Hazaras sitting with the bodies of their loved ones in frigid cold after three days or flying out on a private visit when Karachi suffered the Abbas Town bombing. Khan bravely stood by his people and called out for action against the perpetrators.
Last but not the least, political activism. Almost single handedly, Khan has inspired a segment of the nation that avoided contributing in the political debate. The youth and the women being a large chunk of it, and also of the newly registered voters. He encouraged them to step into the arena; sit out in dharnas (sit-ins) and stand up for a cause. He has shown how ethnicities and social barriers evaporated when all merged together and waved the flag at a jalsa (rally). He asked them to own their country and told them they could change its destiny.
Few will disagree that the coming elections are crucial and decisive for Pakistan. It is not just every citizen’s right but responsibility to exercise his/her vote and to do so wisely. Democracy like change is not an event, it is a process. A process that one cannot passively sit and watch; it requires active participation. It has to be pruned and weeded. Regardless of political affiliations, election results or what Imran Khan and the PTI may or may not achieve, his party’s contributions so far are something to be celebrated by everyone who has worked and wished to see democracy evolve in Pakistan.
The writer is a freelance writer and can be reached on Twitter @nidak_