On September 1, the new government announced an 18-member Economic Advisory Council (EAC) which was comprised of some of the country’s leading economists. Its purpose was to plan and roll out the PTI-led government’s economic policy.
Finance Minister Asad Umar was included in the council as a representative of the government but the council was being led by the prime minister, which was a first.
Others in the council included Dr Atif Mian from Princeton University, Dr Asim ljaz Khawaja who is a professor of international finance and development at the Kennedy School in Harvard and Dr lmran Rasul, a professor of economics, associated with the University College in London.
Atif Mian’s inclusion to the EAC was widely welcomed and praised. Besides his credentials, many people pointed out that his appointment revealed the PTI’s commitment to pluralism - as Mian was an Ahmedi by faith. Major PTI bigwigs and the party cadre celebrated, and even the worst critics of the PTI appreciated the move - even though the council was simply an advisory body which had been made dysfunctional by previous governments.
The mention of Atif Mian’s faith, however, triggered controversy in certain religious and political circles – those that have been fed a steady sectarian diet for decades. Statements began pouring in and one of them was from the PPP’s former deputy speaker of the Sindh Assembly, Shehla Raza, who took the PTI government to task for including an Ahmedi economist. When people expressed outrage on seeing such sentiments being expressed by a representative of a liberal and secular party, some PPP leaders called it her personal opinion. Later, Shehla Raza caved in and blamed the tweet on her social media team, disassociating from it entirely.
Soon after senators from various political parties, the PML-N included, signed a letter condemning the PTI government and demanding Mian’s removal from the EAC. When the PML-N was criticised, they too used ‘personal opinion’ as defence. However some PML-N stalwarts, including Ahsan Iqbal, defended equality of citizens without naming Atif Mian. Maulana Fazalur Rehman, anguished by the 2018 elections results, used the opportunity to attack the government.
The pressure kept building and the government had to make a decision. Sources inside the PTI say the council was the idea of two people: Asad Umar and Imran Khan. Since Imran Khan had himself brought up Atif Mian’s name in 2014, he readily agreed to include him in the EAC. Sources say the leadership was aware of the possibility of a negative reaction but everyone believed that in an 18-member council – which only had an advisory role - his presence would be easy to defend.
When the first wave of criticism surfaced, Imran Khan asked Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry to defend the decision. Fawad, who personally believes in inclusion and pluralism, sprang into action and spoke on this issue forcefully.
“This is not an ‘Islamic Ideology Council’ but an economic advisory council. Besides, we have to protect interests of minorities. We will not be blackmailed by an extremist minority,” he thundered before cameras at a press conference.
The reaction to his bravado was mixed: on one had he was praised by liberal and progressive voices but on the other, he was attacked by the sectarian and extremist lobby, which immediately began demanding his removal from office. The new government was dealing with a full-blown crisis with less than two weeks in office.
First, the prime minister asked Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri to ease out the tensions with the religious lobby making noise over the issue. Qadri at first told him he would try but later reported that it was not manageable. “He told the prime minister that if the decision was not reversed, he would quit the cabinet,” a member of the Imran Khan cabinet told The Friday Times.
Sources say the prime minister then sought the help of his contacts in the militablishment but was told that it was not advisable to use their help at this early stage. The prime minister was urged to exclude Atif Mian so that there were no hiccups at this precarious stage. That is when the u-turn was made.
First, the prime minister recorded and released a video to declare his personal faith and that he believed in the finality of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). He tried to calm the nerves of the religious lobby but it was not enough. Then, on September 7, Fawad Chaudhry was asked to make his first somersault. But before he could announce volte-face of the government, Senator Faisal Javed who is another close confidante of Imran Khan, tweeted about it. “Atif Mian was asked to step down from the advisory council and he has agreed. A replacement will be announced later,” he wrote.
There was not much left for the embarrassed information minister to say after this but he tried to put a spin on it by saying that it was not advisable at this early stage to cause any new distraction for the government, hence the decision had been withdrawn.
This is the extent to which the politics of exclusion is embedded in our political structures.
Finance Minister Asad Umar was included in the council as a representative of the government but the council was being led by the prime minister, which was a first.
Others in the council included Dr Atif Mian from Princeton University, Dr Asim ljaz Khawaja who is a professor of international finance and development at the Kennedy School in Harvard and Dr lmran Rasul, a professor of economics, associated with the University College in London.
Sources say the prime minister sought the help of his contacts in the militablishment but was told that it was not advisable to use their help at this early stage
Atif Mian’s inclusion to the EAC was widely welcomed and praised. Besides his credentials, many people pointed out that his appointment revealed the PTI’s commitment to pluralism - as Mian was an Ahmedi by faith. Major PTI bigwigs and the party cadre celebrated, and even the worst critics of the PTI appreciated the move - even though the council was simply an advisory body which had been made dysfunctional by previous governments.
The mention of Atif Mian’s faith, however, triggered controversy in certain religious and political circles – those that have been fed a steady sectarian diet for decades. Statements began pouring in and one of them was from the PPP’s former deputy speaker of the Sindh Assembly, Shehla Raza, who took the PTI government to task for including an Ahmedi economist. When people expressed outrage on seeing such sentiments being expressed by a representative of a liberal and secular party, some PPP leaders called it her personal opinion. Later, Shehla Raza caved in and blamed the tweet on her social media team, disassociating from it entirely.
Soon after senators from various political parties, the PML-N included, signed a letter condemning the PTI government and demanding Mian’s removal from the EAC. When the PML-N was criticised, they too used ‘personal opinion’ as defence. However some PML-N stalwarts, including Ahsan Iqbal, defended equality of citizens without naming Atif Mian. Maulana Fazalur Rehman, anguished by the 2018 elections results, used the opportunity to attack the government.
The pressure kept building and the government had to make a decision. Sources inside the PTI say the council was the idea of two people: Asad Umar and Imran Khan. Since Imran Khan had himself brought up Atif Mian’s name in 2014, he readily agreed to include him in the EAC. Sources say the leadership was aware of the possibility of a negative reaction but everyone believed that in an 18-member council – which only had an advisory role - his presence would be easy to defend.
When the first wave of criticism surfaced, Imran Khan asked Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry to defend the decision. Fawad, who personally believes in inclusion and pluralism, sprang into action and spoke on this issue forcefully.
“This is not an ‘Islamic Ideology Council’ but an economic advisory council. Besides, we have to protect interests of minorities. We will not be blackmailed by an extremist minority,” he thundered before cameras at a press conference.
The reaction to his bravado was mixed: on one had he was praised by liberal and progressive voices but on the other, he was attacked by the sectarian and extremist lobby, which immediately began demanding his removal from office. The new government was dealing with a full-blown crisis with less than two weeks in office.
First, the prime minister asked Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri to ease out the tensions with the religious lobby making noise over the issue. Qadri at first told him he would try but later reported that it was not manageable. “He told the prime minister that if the decision was not reversed, he would quit the cabinet,” a member of the Imran Khan cabinet told The Friday Times.
Sources say the prime minister then sought the help of his contacts in the militablishment but was told that it was not advisable to use their help at this early stage. The prime minister was urged to exclude Atif Mian so that there were no hiccups at this precarious stage. That is when the u-turn was made.
First, the prime minister recorded and released a video to declare his personal faith and that he believed in the finality of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). He tried to calm the nerves of the religious lobby but it was not enough. Then, on September 7, Fawad Chaudhry was asked to make his first somersault. But before he could announce volte-face of the government, Senator Faisal Javed who is another close confidante of Imran Khan, tweeted about it. “Atif Mian was asked to step down from the advisory council and he has agreed. A replacement will be announced later,” he wrote.
There was not much left for the embarrassed information minister to say after this but he tried to put a spin on it by saying that it was not advisable at this early stage to cause any new distraction for the government, hence the decision had been withdrawn.
This is the extent to which the politics of exclusion is embedded in our political structures.