Daily Times

The loss of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the 2013 general elections was inevitable. The way it ran the administration during its last tenure even a toddler could tell you about the imminent catastrophe. From the restoration of judges to the revival of economy, and from the horrendous corruption scandals of its leaders to its lackadaisical fight against terrorism, the PPP dug its heels deeper and deeper, eventually losing the electoral battle. In the last two years, its unpopularity grew to the extent that even its coalition partners could not protect their credibility, shrinking in size. One coalition partner, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, disappeared from the assemblies as if it was never there.

The PPPs loss meant gain for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of Nawaz Sharif, and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of Imran Khan, a crisis for the former being translated into an opportunity for the latter two. Mian Nawaz Sharif’s surge was understandable, as it depended on a single factor: the performance of his younger brother, and the then chief minister (CM) of Punjab, Mian Shehbaz Sharif, who during that period was the only CM striving to serve his people. Although he also lacked (and still does) the vision to bring fundamental institutional reforms and failed to invest in human capital, Shehbaz still provided a clean government for five years, and completed some important infrastructure projects within the given timeframe.

The reason for the success of the PTI, on the other hand, was more elusive. It rested on the controversial and indefinable strategy of Imran Khan. First, he promised an honest and a conscientious government if he came into power, a government that did not spend money on security of its high officials, and rather, a government that invested in the security of its people. Second, he began a relentless negative campaign against both the major political parties — the PML-N and PPP. And third, he decided not to confront the establishment. It meant he would keep quiet on issues that might antagonise the agencies and lash out at civilians if they did not comply with Rawalpindi on security issues.

Aside from that Khan also loosened the party policy to accommodate some turncoats. Like a black cloud, these deserters bring negative ratings to a party even when they carry thousands of votes in their constituencies. For unknown reasons, the former cricketer bent over backwards to appease the rightwing pro-Taliban elements as well, a policy for which he has been called the ‘Taliban Khan’. Analysts considered the last two adjustments as grave mistakes and predicted that the air-filled balloon of PTI’s popularity would burst soon. But it did not happen. Why? Simple: the PPP’s performance was so bad that people would have preferred Mullah Omar over Asif Zardari had he had opted to run and promised less corruption.

In short, Khan’s popularity kept rising. At one point, he also realised that the PPP was a dead horse, especially in Punjab, and that his real rival was the PML-N. It also occurred to him that the PTI had to capture Punjab to convert his popularity into a real ‘tsunami’, and the only way to win it was by going after the Sharif brothers. They had to be pulled down. He had to attack them personally, he thought. They could not claim to be clean when their hands were dirty, so he acted on his new strategy, which worked, and he gained further momentum. But, unfortunately, he fell short of defeating them in the elections, an unexpected setback for him. In his opinion, he had once again beaten the odds like he did in 1992 cricket World Cup.

The question now is: what can PTI do to win the elections of 2018? To date, the PTI is clinging to its previous strategy, which stopped working, as if it had hit a ceiling. The results of the last few by-elections point towards that, although it remains debatable since by-elections do not represent the mood of the general public. Regardless of that, the party needs a new policy, don’t you agree? But what could that new policy be?

Let me answer this question the same way Khan answered a young boy in the audience while being interviewed in India during the Twenty20 World Cup last month. He said that victory is a mindset. If you possess that mindset, you can catch every mistake of your opponent and benefit from it. On the other hand, if you possess a defensive mindset, you just try to protect your gains and become more susceptible to lose the game. I agree with Khan, as winning in politics is a mindset too, but that mindset is not a licence to blame others for your own problems. Instead it encourages you to understand the root cause of the problem and propose a solution to eliminate it.

For example, corruption is a problem. Who can disagree? Many politicians may have been involved in it. The recently leaked Panama Papers indicate towards the alleged involvement of the Nawaz Sharif family in money laundering and tax evasion. One way of approaching the issue is to get personal like Khan did in his press conference. However, there is also a better way, a way that lays out the problems and presents the solutions without hitting below the belt and staying within the realms of decency. It brings into discussion steps to strengthen the system. It urges a politician to act like a statesman, a person who could represent the people without being irascible. It talks about rising above the party line and becoming a national leader, not just the chairman of the PTI.

Khan could demonstrate all of these characteristics, but he chooses to ignore them and continues to lose in the elections. After all, negativity can only take you that high. Therefore, if Khan wishes to get a different result in the next elections he needs to adopt the winning strategy of politics, a policy that does not depend on the mistakes of others like cricket. Instead, it depends on your own mistakes and your ability to learn from them.

The writer is a US-based freelance columnist. He tweets at @KaamranHashmi and can be reached at skamranhashmi@gmail.com