Prime Minister Imran Khan is not the first person who dreamed of bringing change in Pakistan. In the course of 73 years, there have been several attempts to radically change the country. Since the independence, Pakistan has spent 33 years under the military. General Ayub Khan and General Pervez Musharraf used a modern nationalist approach while General Ziaul Haq implemented a more stern and moralistic form of Islam. On the other hand, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a civilian head of the state, tried to rally the masses through a mixture of nationalism and anti-elitist economic populism. Unfortunately, they all failed. Every single one of them found their government ruled by the elites they had hoped to displace.
The current PTI government does not seem any different. In his election campaign, Imran Khan vowed to bring about a revolution, a tsunami that would give rise to a ‘Naya Pakistan’ which would not only be inclusive for all but also economically robust. Unfortunately, Khan too has ended up like all the others and to this day his promises remain hollow. I believe that Prime Minister Khan, considering that he is a man of great stature, can still bring about great changes and revolutionise the governance system of the country only if he stops consulting with his old electables. Khan, thus, needs to focus on uprooting the old system but with new elected representatives.
There is no doubt that Khan’s charisma has impressed not only the urban and the middle class within the country but also the Pakistani diaspora across the world. He is a true leader, keen to do a lot but remains trapped within the political maze of the country. A change in the system can only come through the creation of a radical national movement that gives a chance to young and modest politicians who are enthusiastic for change.
Shoaib Lashari
Larkana
Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2020.
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