PTI chief Imran Khan’s latest call, as he wound up his campaigning for the Punjab by-elections, let slip what kind of regime he had been heading as Prime Minister, and contained an almost desperate appeal for a ‘U-turn by the generals’. He meant that they should reverse their alleged support for regime change, and should provide him and his party the support necessary for a return to office.
This seems to contradict the statements by other party leaders, most notably former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry, who has been critical of alleged establishment intervention in politics. While the calls for non-interference are all very well, Mr Khan has taken the anodyne concept of neutrality and converted it into a whip with which to beat the establishment. It does not bode well for the future of democracy in Pakistan that the former Prime Minister should be so open about asking that he be brought back into power, to the extent of calling on the establishment to carry out a U-turn. This is perhaps the first time he has mentioned this as a military virtue, previously having called the ability to make U-turns the hallmark of a great political or national leader.
This raises important questions about the direction Mr Khan wants to lead the nation. His track record was one of economic mismanagement, poor governance and lack of performance. There does not seem to be the realization that it was precisely this lack of performance that made the establishment stop giving the help that he wants restored. He might find that the establishment is not going to be particularly interested in helping him back to the same type of feckless governance. Besides this constant pleading for establishment interference is precisely the reason why till date the country’s political progress has remained stunted. The revelations by Mr Khan merit study, because they are by no means unique. Previous governments too have leaned on institutions to provide support. Because politicians become used to support from certain institutions should not render them liable to blame, or even surprise, just as much as politicians becoming used to such perks as free travel or expenses being paid on foreign visits. However, the aim should be to find leaders who will take Mr Khan’s revelations as lessons on what to avoid, rather than as some sort of lost Eden, as Mr Khan seems to be treating them.
