The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) is the savviest political party. The party’s social media policy gives it an edge over other political parties in Pakistan. It uses social media to its full advantage, especially after the ouster of Imran Khan from the PM office.
One would think the PTI leaders would be careful in accusing and alleging others of misappropriations of various kinds as in an age of social media, truth can be unearthed in no time. For example, they accused law enforcement personnel of using brute force in carrying out the arrest of Shahbaz Gill. His driver appeared in videos recordings where he narrated how he was beaten. It turned out that Gill’s arrest was conducted in a regular manner, following police protocols. No unwarranted force was used to arrest him.
Recently, PTI leader Asad Umar said he was offered a minus-Imran formula. Neither did he name names nor provided proof to confirm his claim. Later, he was reported as stating that the PTI is “nothing” without its chairman, Khan. This is something no one would disagree with.
It is clear that the PTI is a ‘cult’ rather than a political party and there is no one else capable of leading the party except Imran Khan. Khan is more of a demagogue than a leader, who has been given a carte blanche by his followers. The blame of this blind following does not entirely rest on them, as there is a dearth of true leadership options in the country. It has also become a firm belief among his followers that only Imran Khan can fix issues of the country, and others have a history of corruption. Imran Khan may not be corrupt but he lacks vision, capability and capacity to lead the nation to prosperity. His other flaw is that he does not get along with international leaders.
The ‘state’ of Pakistan is talking to TTP, a terrorist group, which is not only demanding separation on ethnic grounds but also wants to take control of a huge area of the country to implement a sharia rule
Populism does not bring food to the table and does not bring prosperity to the nation as most of it is based on fascist political ideology. It disregards the notion of greater good for the people. It does not help the country move forward on international fronts. It is short lived. Trump is a perfect example. He was pushed out of power and since then has been struggling to keep his popular narrative alive.
The PTI contradictions were evident in a recently aired talk show on a private news TV channel, where special assistant to information ministry KP, Barrister Saif, stated that the parleys going on between the government and the TTP have tough conditions for both sides. He was implying that in Pashtun style, negotiations to reach a deal always start with tough conditions but with time both sides come close to an amicable solution. Imran Khan has said the same thing as well and was criticised by the same ethnic entity of Pakistan.
Seemingly, the ‘state’ of Pakistan is talking to TTP, a terrorist group, which is not merely asking for separation (on ethnic) grounds but wants to take control of a huge area of the country to implement a sharia rule. The state has no ethnicity and no religion. The state is neutral. Its top priority is to protect the citizens. The state is wrongly bringing things down to a private level. The writ of the state should be implemented by the state institutions and as a democratic country, our civilian government should take charge.
Pakistan is a huge country with the 5th largest military might and a nuclear state. No non-state actor should be allowed to dictate terms to Pakistan. The PTI’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government is unnecessarily talking to the TTP. It will not bear any fruit in terms of long lasting peace and stability in the region of Swat and surrounding areas.
What is savvy about parhay likhay jahils?