Daily Times

Even the harshest of former prime minister Imran Khan’s critics would begrudgingly admit that he holds the ropes no matter which side of the table he is sitting on. Going by the fuming uproar over his statement on the hypothetical extension of the army chief’s tenure, one can’t help but wonder whether we have landed back at square one.

Because before all the hullabaloo had set in and the treasury and opposition benches stepped onto the field to play a cloak-and-dagger game months ago, wasn’t this willingness to step over the red line Mr Khan’s original sin? No matter how hard the yardstick of popularity may tilt in his favour, a statement on a television interview by an opposition leader–one who doesn’t even sit in the parliament–is being painted as a tempest of unimaginable proportions.

Now that Mr Khan has come up with clarifications and claims that he had only talked about deferment of the process, the state would be better off leaving the futile exercise. At a time when all of its energies should have been devoted to highlighting the plight of millions exasperating for a single meal under the open skies, it is busy peddling a tit-for-tat agenda and appeasing fragile egos.

Even if giving a befitting reply to a political rival trumped the trivial matter of resuscitating an economy dashing towards a default situation, hadn’t key PML(N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi filled in the shoes? Shouldn’t the honourable defence minister have been more concerned about the flames of terrorism raising from our backyard?

With a looming food emergency, devastating levels of the import equilibrium, skyrocketing electricity bills and the spiralling climatic-induced damages to infrastructure (already running into billions), there is no shortage of debilitating challenges for a proactive state to busy itself with. As for Mr Khan, his crusade better not be limited to making headlines over the army chief. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

And when parts of the country are still struggling to fight off the worst flood in ages, a man of his stature should let go of the optics game and instead, focus on bridging the gaps. Pakistan Army has many a time and oft left a commendable impression with its hardcore discipline. The chief and the army are as one. Therefore, letting the course continue on its own and focusing on strengthening the state comes with its appeal. Wasn’t it also Mr Khan who had once quipped, “In the First World War and the Second World War, no General got an extension?” *