Daily Times

When I wrote in my last article about the PML-N’s decision to contest the by-elections and the likelihood of it winning the same easily, I received a call from one of my professors who said the “PML-N should be thankful to the PTI”. I was startled as many readers must also have been to see the title of this article, but then he explained and I had to agree.
To the PTI’s credit it has stuck to the issue of rigging despite criticism from many political and media quarters, and amidst allegations of conspiracy. Although its claims of systematic rigging in the PML-N’s favour could not be substantiated, it is for the first time that loopholes in our electoral system have not only been fully exposed but also documented at the highest judicial level. More importantly, a completely new level of mass engagement and awareness has been achieved, which is a very welcome sign for democracy. Elections, which were always handled by the election commission as carelessly as we know now, were seen as a futile exercise by a majority of people who took little interest in the process or its outcomes. But now there are a lot of people who not only taking keen interest in the process but also demanding it be made fair and transparent. One hopes that with this sort of mass interest in the process, the next elections are going to be a lot better, which is essential for strengthening of democracy in the country.
Like it or not, this could not have been achieved in any way other than the one adopted by the PTI, i.e. mass agitation. For those who think a parliamentary committee could have done it better, here is a simple question: how many parliamentary committees or their working does an average Pakistani know about and what have they achieved so far? It is true that legislation will be finally done by parliament but it has time and again proved itself incapable of acting meaningfully without outside pressure.
Having said that, the PTI’s single point politics have allowed the PML-N to maintain a desirable level of popularity despite its poor governance. So much so that it is now a favourite to win the by-polls. After two and a quarter years in office, this level of the PML-N’s popularity is unprecedented. Despite all the propaganda about maturity and experience, the PML-N is no better than it always has been. Nandipur, Model Town, the petrol crisis, power breakdowns, unfulfilled promises regarding load shedding, LNG import, floods and Kasur — all belie this claptrap. Yet, it has gotten away with all of this because the PTI was too engrossed in its movement against ‘rigging’ to highlight these issues. Given the PPP’s policy of ‘reconciliation’, real opposition was to come from the PTI. Had it fully played its role, not only would it have been reaping political benefits, governance would also have been a lot better.
Ishaq Dar, the lord of the PML-N’s jerry-built statistical empire, keeps pulling out surreally positive numbers from his accounting books. But, at the same time, the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM) has revealed a drop in the literacy rate and access to basic health facilities and clean water during the previous year. This is because Dar is not an economist; he is an accountant who has mastered the art of creating statistical illusions. A real economist would have focused, in celebrated economist Mahboob ul Haq’s words, on “people centered policies” instead of “national income accounting”. But we have not seen the PTI devoting any effort to bust these statistical myths either.
One of the reasons for educated people supporting the PTI was the hope that unlike other parties it would rise above populism and political expediency to bring a culture of careful planning, hard work and performance orientation. But again, the PTI has shown little interest in doing anything like that. It should have formed a shadow government, offered articulated criticism on government policies and presented its own. This would have busted the myth of the PML-N’s good governance on one hand and improved the PTI’s image on the other.
It is time for the PTI to rethink its strategy of throwing everything into a single campaign. Khan and his hawks can keep doing populist politics but experience and wisdom of people like Chaudary Sarwar and Asad Umar should be put to more constructive use. And, yes, the PTI really needs to improve its performance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The writer is a freelance contributor. He tweets @atifhussain