Imran’s unhidden agenda

Imran Khan’s statement at the press conference last week to launch the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) election manifesto was remarkable for what it left unsaid. He talked about reducing the number of federal ministries to 17, although that number also exceeds the ministerial job specifications post the Eighteenth Amendment. Reading out the salient topics, a now reconciled follower announced a lot of emergencies — education, health, energy, you name it. Institutions take decades to establish, but the PTI already has an emergency plan for institutional reform. Imran was flanked by General Ziaul Haq’s minister for youth affairs and a scion of landed aristocracy. No wonder, there was the trademark pampering of the youth. No wonder, also, that he kept mum on the land question. If one goes through the document circulated to the media, however, there is an eminently sensible agenda for land reforms. Not a word was said about this by anyone present. With the PPP having forgotten what its founding fathers stood for, and the PML-N’s marriage of convenience with feudal electables, the field is wide open to appeal to rural votes with a serious message on land reforms. Instead, Imran seems obsessed with busting the urban trust of the Sharif clan.

The PTI manifesto promises to strictly enforce the existing land reform laws. In effect, there are no such laws. They were declared un-Islamic by the Shariat Court. To demonstrate its seriousness, the PTI should have become a party to the pending appeal in the Supreme Court for a review of the earlier judgment. Has the commitment been made to placate the land reform enthusiasts in the party, hoping that the time to fulfil this commitment will never come? This is a game that the old guard of politicians usually plays. It is hard to believe that a person like Imran can make a commitment he does not intend to fulfil. The agenda, in his case, is unhidden. One likes to hope that the PTI would do what is necessary to resume the implementation of the land reform laws. In view of the developing techniques, there is a strong economic case for reducing the ceiling on ownership even further. For the present, however, the old laws are good enough for the increasing mass of the landless. Poor and dishonest implementation had made nonsense of their true intent. Effective execution, together with the PTI’s commitment to outlaw and uncover benami ownership, will ensure what it promises — the distribution of resumed land to the landless only. There is also an unambiguous declaration to eliminate the distinction between agricultural and non-agricultural incomes for tax purposes.



Small holdings for tillers are good for higher agricultural productivity, lower inequality and reduced rural poverty. However, satisfying the land hunger of peasants comes up against the greed of mafias, land grabbers and speculators. Land is a gift of nature and requires that it is handled with care. Corporate corrupters cannot augment its supply. The manifesto proposes appropriate legislation to stop tenant eviction and break the stranglehold of the patwari and “revenuecracy”, so that land records are maintained transparently and accessed easily. It is hoped the proposed legal reform will also relate to the issues of fragmentation resulting from inheritance laws, eminent domain and land acquisition. Good governance of land is as important as equitable land distribution. The focus of the manifesto on strengthening local governance is extremely relevant here. This is borne out by the experience of Botswana.

The PTI needs to not fight shy of telling the tiller what it promises. There are votes to be won here. Besides, the youth bulge is larger in rural areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th, 2013.