Since before the Musharraf-era, governance in Punjab has been associated with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and three-time Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif. However, following the 2018 General Elections, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has come out on top in Pakistan’s most densely populated province. Naya Pakistan is here, and with it comes a Naya Punjab and a new CM.
Enter PTI’s Lahore President, Abdul Aleem Khan, who is a frontrunner for the position. He is a successful business magnate from a humble middle class background. While he was studying Business Administration in Canada, he discovered he had cancer and returned to Lahore to receive treatment at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH). He has been one of the biggest donors to the hospital since then, and also donated generously to Imran Khan’s NAMAL project as well as the PTI itself back when it was still a struggling party, helping it get where it is today. His Abdul Aleem Khan foundation also runs numerous social welfare campaigns to serve the most vulnerable members of our society, such as orphaned children, the impoverished and the differently-abled.
Aleem Khan’s history of business and philanthropy makes him the ideal candidate to manage a province like the Punjab.Despite his experience in these fields, he is still young enough to adapt to today’s emerging challenges. We saw in Shahbaz Sharif’s previous tenure that the government failed to tackle issues related to pollution, climate change and availability of water. For Punjab to address these issues, we must have new and energetic leaders like Aleem Khan.His sound business background will also enable him to manage Punjab’s budget efficiently.
Furthermore, as he has also been president of the PTI’s Lahore chapter since 2013,he has the political experience needed to govern Punjab. Administrative qualifications are not enough for the CM of Punjab, as the province is considered the centre of gravity of Pakistani politics. Aleem Khan gained the requisite political experience by heading Imran Khan’s NA-122 campaign in 2013, taking over completely after the party chairman’s accident right before the election.
While there may be other candidates in the PTI for the position of Punjab CM, only Aleem Khan has the experience to cross the bar set by the PML-N and Shahbaz Sharif over the past ten years.Let’s choose the right leader for Naya Punjab.
The writer is a freelance journalist