EDITORIAL: He has been saying that in a circuitous way since his ouster from power last April, but former prime minister Imran Khan was more upfront when he told a group of journalists on Wednesday that during his three-and-a-half years at the helm the decision-making powers did not lie with him even though he was (supposedly) in charge.
Had he enjoyed complete authority, claimed Khan, his government would have been like that of Sher Shah Suri — the 16th century ruler of north India credited for introducing a number of important, ahead of his times, administrative and financial reforms for the greater public good. He would have turned his dream of ‘Naya Pakistan’ into a huge reality, he said, but “orders were coming from somewhere else. Our hands were tied. ... Power was not with us.” No surprise there.
Then in an apparent attempt to justify his ‘same page’ refrain whilst in office, he added, “we relied on them all the time. They did a lot of good things, too, but they didn’t do many things that should’ve been done.”
All these issues are quite familiar. Others before Khan have also complained of heading the government sans authority. Yet it keeps happening again and again. Khan did not offer any explanation for it, saying only that “everyone knows where power lies in Pakistan. So we had to rely on them.” In that case he shouldn’t have blamed institutions, such as the National Accountability Bureau, for kowtowing to the powers that be.
Things being what they are, no amount of whining and griping is going to change them for the better unless politicians stop relying on non-political forces to stay in power or to gain it. The problem starts when leaders, big and small, seek their help for the achievement of their respective political ambitions. With the one probable exception of the PPP, all other parties, including the PTI and the PML-N, have had no qualms about ‘winning’ elections via political engineering. Hence, who pays the piper, wants to call the tune. If only leaders of political parties were to show some patience and count on the support of the people in whose name they supposedly rule, they could be calling the tune as well.
Unfortunately, no lessons seem to have been learned from past experiences. The 13-party ruling alliance at present, allegedly installed by the same hands they — at least, the two major players in it — had been berating against until recently; now want their key opponent, Imran Khan, banished from the political arena in a similar fashion as meted out to them. They appear to be interested more in protecting personal stakes than strengthening the democratic process.
Ex-premier Khan, though, has turned to the people to challenge — in not too many words — who, he thinks, orchestrated his ouster, promising to make a new beginning in their interest if brought back to power. He may or may not get there. In any event, one cannot but agree with him on that there is a need to strike a balance between “a strong national security apparatus” and a “strong government” in order for the system to work efficiently, with the responsibility and authority vested in one office. Which, of course, has to be the one occupied by the people’s chosen representatives. They will have real power only when they come to that office on their own steam, and serve the people rather than themselves.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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