Imran Khan’s tsunami is taking a nap these days, may it not go into an eternal sleep. In a follow-up to Shireen Mazari and Muhammad Khan Hoti’s resignations from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the former the central vice president and the latter a senior leader of the party, yet another senior leader and old guard Admiral (Retd) Javed Iqbal left the party for what he called the dominant role of ‘Musharraf’s cronies’, ‘opportunists’ and the so-called ‘electables’. The ideological members or the so-called old guard of the party have been complaining that owing to Imran Khan’s tendency to allow a greater role to the ‘opportunist’ newcomers by dint of their wealth, the role and influence of the old loyalists has been undermined. This feeling has forced many, particularly in Punjab, to quit the party. While discussing the new spate of flight of leaders from the party, one of my friends commented, “The PTI will completely evaporate before the general election!” Yes, I am sure I can refer to countless points to prove my friend wrong but his viewpoint is not outrightly absurd.
Imran Khan’s strategy to make the so-called tsunami a success story has failed bluntly. His open opposition to the leader and worker of every party was meant to set off a wind of change and wean away the maximum number of the same to his side. He deemed it expedient to first get ‘horses’ on his side and then look them in the face and allocate them their due position. His search for electables landed him among horses too strong and proud to heed and accommodate him and each other, not to talk of the non-electable ideological members, and hence the acrimony and the bad feeling among the leaders of the PTI.
The electables (who are all turncoats) surprisingly came in Khan’s camp. The majority of the electables who joined his party are from the feudal and pir background, and are notorious for changing loyalties. Some are known to be worshippers of the rising sun. Literally blinded by his popularity and prominence as a rising star, they said goodbye to their parties and jumped on his bandwagon. At that point, they failed to differentiate between a celebrity and a politician. Perhaps they also forgot the preposition that ‘once a celebrity, celebrity forever’. No doubt, he is more popular than the other leaders of Pakistan but as a cricket star or a man of charming personality, not as an ideological and principled political leader or a statesman. The majority of his supporters are his fans not voters and thus his chances of coming into power are slim. The electables realised that after participating in his rallies that presented a look of fanfare or a musical concert and that is the reason that in the PTI some of them find themselves in the wrong place.
Now both, electables or the new guard and ideological or old guard are leaving the PTI. Shireen Mazari and Javed Iqbal were the old members while Hoti and Bandials in Punjab were the new ones. As rumours have it, many more are flapping their wings to fly away.
That Khan is a celebrity can also be gauged from his apolitical approach to politics. He seems incapable of hitting the nail on the head. You ask Khan a question about the war on terror and he begins to criticise Nawaz Sharif or Maulana Fazlur Rehman or abuse the US. You ask him about FATA and he says that he has visited the region; he knows all about it and they don’t, hence, this and that should be done. He resorts to either dull moralising as the film star Shaan does regularly on his morning show, or criticising others. It is not that he cannot answer the questions raised by the media but he probably does not grasp the full effect of what he says.
Khan is finding it hard to overcome his history and background. Having been born in a well-off family and lived as a star, he is the epitome of the values of the privileged class. Members of that class in particular and the majority of the students of natural sciences are socially liberal and politically conservative. That is why on the one hand we see girls in jeans in his rallies while on the other, we hear Khan declaring war in the Afghanistan jihad, in the fashion of a bearded mullah. The youth of the elite class and students of natural sciences find their natural choice in him. We need a leader who is politically a rationalist and pragmatist and socially respectful of our eastern values and traditions.
It would be unfair to overlook Khan’s positive and constructive contribution to the political system of Pakistan. Through his indiscriminate and tortuous criticism, he aroused other traditional leaders from deep slumber. He taught Pakistanis to hold their leaders answerable and accountable. He mobilised those people who had no concern with the statecraft of Pakistan. For the first time in the 65-year history of Pakistan, he introduced the policy paper system. He brought out policy papers about economic, health and foreign policy reforms to be introduced in the country. It is a new trend in Pakistan. He compelled other parties to remain proactive and care about the problems of voters.
If Imran Khan wants to make his tsunami a success story, he should put his head together with the other leaders of his party and cool-mindedly revisit his overall approach to politics. Instead of shooting arrows in the air, he should base his party policies on a sound ideological foundation and clear confusion about his connections with the establishment. He should respond to the need of the time: to steer Pakistan out of religious fundamentalism, bigotry and extremism. His ‘soft corner’ for the Taliban is the most unacceptable aspect of his politics.
The writer is a political observer and can be reached at [email protected]