Domestic demerits

For all of Britain’s problems and the inherent racist undertones of the campaign that led to Brexit, it is true that immigrants, or at least their children, are ‘stealing’ jobs from Brits of a certain shade. Right now, at least two top government jobs that had never been held by a non-white person are held by the children of Pakistani migrants who barely even spoke English. One is Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London. The other is Sajid Javid, Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer — equivalent to a finance minister. Coincidentally, both men’s fathers worked as bus drivers after migrating to the UK. Both are also from large families — Khan is one of eight children and Javid is one of five. Their parents worked hard, both at their blue-collar jobs and at home, to give their children the inspiration and values that would one day turn them into leaders of men.

Despite their lack of familial ties with the communities around them, Khan and Javid were able to become popular enough to win elections without famous parents. “Mummy, tu kaddi sochiya si appay ithay hongay? (Mummy, could you ever imagine we would be here one day?)” Javid asked his mother in Punjabi at the recent Conservative Party conference in Manchester. It was a powerful moment and one that does require some imagination. Are Pakistanis rising to power without a hook? It can happen. Just not in feudal Pakistan. Here, what passes for merit is often a sad joke. Whether it be the two major opposition parties; or most smaller ones, which have always been helmed by their respective ruling families; or even the ruling party, where a number of lower-ranking elected and appointed members share biological ties with the party’s big guns, including the PM; true merit — seniority, achievements, and contributions to the party and the country — is seldom a factor in decision-making.

As long as Bilawal Bhuttos become party chiefs as teenagers, Ali Tareens are nominated for their fathers’ seats, or younger Sharifs get party posts ahead of lifelong workers, the only place Pakistanis will find meritocracy is outside Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2019.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.