As more abandon PTI, change slips through Imran’s grasp

Apart from losing party members, party chief has to deal with disgruntled administrative machinery

PESHAWAR: As more members leave Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf for what they believe are greener pastures, the one man who is undoubtedly having sleepless nights is party chief Imran Khan. His dream of implementing a system based on merit, honesty and justice is all but fading away.

Internal wrangling within PTI has now left the door open for other political forces to capitalise on the situation. The people who have reduced PTI’s standing in the political arena are none other than politicians occupying important offices, both in the provincial legislature and executive offices.

As a result, electorates who backed Imran's candidates in the 2013 general polls are now disillusioned and switching to other political parties, including PTI’s own coalition partners.

Switching from one party to another is as old as the game of politics, but members leaving the umbrella of the ruling political force in K-P must be a major headache for PTI’s founder.

Soon after assuming power, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak claimed failure in implementing the party’s agenda was not an option as PTI was looking to ensure success in the 2018 elections.

With such tall claims, there were indeed great expectations from the party. However, fast forward three years and there is an air of disappointment among people from all walks of life. Even those highly educated people, left despondent by other political forces in the past, have lost faith in the slogan of change.

Former federal interior minister Qaumi Watan Party Chairperson Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, in his last press conference in Peshawar, welcomed PTI stalwarts from Charsadda.

Zahoor Khan Umerzai, Hasham Khan and Fazle Elahi Khan, along with other workers, resigned from PTI and announced joining QWP. These are not the first people to have been disillusioned by PTI as people are switching from all over the province. Besides QWP, which is, in fact, a coalition partner, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Pakistan Peoples Party, Awami National Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz are also welcoming PTI dissidents.

The K-P government and its ruling coalition parties such as PTI, QWP and JI can take credit for their achievements, but at the same time are also responsible for the shortcomings in governance. Some of the people holding key positions within the ruling party are now working on the agenda of ensuring their personal political stability.

Apart from losing the faith of politicians, the PTI-led government is facing trouble from its own administrative machinery.

Recently, PMS/PCS officers protested against the chief secretary, demanding his removal and transfer. Their strike resulted in the formation of a special committee, led by senior minister Sikandar Sherpao, to address the issues of civil servants. After various sittings and consultations, certain recommendations were made to resolve the differences.

Khattak, through an official handout, announced the "ending (closing) of all enquiries” against the civil servants earlier this week. On behalf of PCS/PMS officers association, spokesperson Qazi Fahad welcomed the decision.

On the coattails of the first notification, the administration department issued another handout related to action being taken against four civil officers allegedly posing as representatives of the PCS/PMS association. Also, the charges and allegations discussed thoroughly with Sherpao’s committee began to resurface. Qazi termed such a notification is unlawful, saying that holding a peaceful protest to ask for genuine demands is a legal and constitutional right.

Later on the evening of the same Saturday (July 16), the provincial government, through the Information department, withdrew Administration’s handout. However, this led to the reemergence of rifts among executives.

The internal tug-of-war within the administrative machinery is also likely to affect the PTI’s performance and resulting failures to ensure good governance could have lasting impacts on the party’s future in K-P and the rest of the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2016.