KARACHI:
Prime Minister Imran Khan has been engaged in steering the country both internationally and domestically. Pakistan recently hosted a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) council of foreign ministers to discuss peace and stability in Afghanistan, which was attended by ministers from several countries. Domestically, the PM is working on alleviating the economic crisis in the country through large-scale relief programmes.
However, the recent performance of the PTI in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa local body elections demonstrates that Prime Minister’s efforts are going in vain. It was surprising to witness JUI-F in the lead as the party has done little in the province during the present and past tenure of the PTI government. Under the PTI government, K-P was the first to announce health insurance and introduced the acclaimed Bus Rapid Transit system. Yet the electorate brought JUI-F to the forefront.
I would advise the Prime Minister to halt all programmes as ‘Naya Pakistan’, interest-free agri loan, housing and business loans, subsidised grocery, universal health insurance, free skill training, etc. Instead, he should provide subsidies on fuel, electricity and other essential items. In this manner, he will be able to ‘politically’ offset the negative, publicly appealing propaganda of the opposition and win the minds and hearts of the public. He must think politically, strengthen his hold on the public through heavily subsidised dole-outs, reform the institutions and the bureaucracy and lead Pakistan to a glorified future – which was envisioned as destiny by the Quaid-e-Azam.
Talaat Khurshid
Rawalpindi
Published in The Express Tribune, December 24th, 2021.
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