The mercurial leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan, has again made waves in the political pond. He has announced disciplinary action against 20 PTI lawmakers of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assembly who it is alleged did not follow the party line in the March Senate elections. The MPAs in question face charges of accepting bribes of up to Rs40 million from opponents of the PTI in order that they cast their votes for rival candidates. The matter has been investigated internally and the 20 MPAs are, as a first step, being issued show-cause notices and if there is no satisfactory response within 10 days they will be expelled from the party.
It is something of an understatement to say that this is a break with tradition. Hitherto horse-trading and floor crossing have been widely condemned by one and all and then allowed to continue unabated, a fact of political life. That politicians are venal and dishonest and willing to trade their loyalties for hard cash may be reprehensible but thus far it has been normative. Now the PTI has upended the applecart in no uncertain manner, and if it truly does follow through then 33 per cent of its strength in the K-P assembly are going to get the order of the boot, including women MPAs on reserved seats. Nothing of the like has ever happened in the political history of Pakistan.
The announcement has produced a sharp intake of breath across the political spectrum because if the PTI move plays out then every other party is playing catch-up and going to be expected to have a similar cleaning of their disloyal and greedy ranks. Already there is said to be a susurrus of unease in the ruling PML-N particularly in south Punjab where MNAs are jumping ship in the direction of a nascent ‘new province’ party. The PTI says it has the names of those in other parties who sold their loyalties and would make them public. Cue widespread panic — or not. The proof of the pudding is going to be in the eating. If the PTI holds firm then political change, real change, may be in the air.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2018.
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