Anybody may become part of the system, but nobody can change the system. The Power Dynamics of Pakistan is largely based on the Elitist Model of Democracy. A state with such system of governance can’t demand for a rapid structural change. The mobilized population of PTI has been idealized to believe in such utopian concepts of a just society. The Establishment will not let anybody exploit an organized structure of power dynamics in Pakistan, serving somebody’s interests. There is a need to talk about small changes, to talk about ground level changes. People should need to understand that a mere change of face at the leadership level of a state, the Prime Minister, will not do any changes at all.
Democracy in Pakistan is based on the slogan of, “Government for the elite, by the elite, and of the elite.” Pakistan has been stuck in the nexus of multiple elites where the legitimacy and acceptance of any leader or politician depends on the interests of such nexus of elites. Imran Khan can’t legitimately claim of building a party from scratch because more than half of the leaders in PTI had been associated to some other political parties before joining PTI. Khan couldn’t have succeeded in getting into power with a completely new member. Hence, the Government of PTI just proved to be a mere change of face at the leadership level. The backoff of many PTI members during Khan’s ouster and the recent establishment of “Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party” after the resignation of many PTI members shows the dependency of Khan on such political elites.
Establishment in Pakistan during the recent times has been misinterpreted as military elites but it is more than this. Elites of all forms may be classified as part of the establishment, be it Media Elites, Political Elites, Feudal Lords, Business Elites, Bureaucratic Elites, or any other elite with significant influencing potential. With all these elites collectively termed as establishment, no single man has the power and muscles to work against their interests. Everyone that gets the hierarchical position must satisfy the interests of these elites to keep its legitimacy. Hence, Establishment in the elitist sense has been an influential community when it comes to political decision-making in Pakistan.
The discourses of a “Just society” or “State of Medina” especially by PTI are mere discourses illusions being shaped for their political mobilization and societal legitimization. Such a rapid structural change as promised by PTI under the narrative of “Naya Pakistan” can’t be real. To change the political structure of a state like Pakistan with a complex democratic model, a top-down approach can be the most flawed technique. Promising the people about an idealistic state with justice, accountability, and equality is a mere political stunt for vote gain. PTI’s narrative of idealizing Imran Khan and making people believe that Khan can change the system is also not more than a political stunt.
Pakistan needs to follow a bottom-up approach, keeping in mind that the problem doesn’t lie with the leadership at the top but at the ground level. One could see that during the Government of PTI, a change was made at the upper level of leadership, but at the ground level, there were mostly the same people who had governed under other political parties’ tag as well. There is a strong grip of these elites at the voters. In Pakistan, most of the voting is either based on ethnicity, caste, sectarian influence, peer pressure, influence of feudal lords, or money. The capability of the candidate is never measured during the voting in Pakistan.
To tackle these elites’ monopoly in Pakistan, there is a need to change the mindset of people. But to aware the people about voting, one would need government and media support which unfortunately has become an influential zone of elites, and nobody would want to change the mindset of people because it would result in the failure of their existing discourses. Hence, those leaders promising a rapid structural change, selling these utopian discourses, should start educating their voters how to vote.
Keeping in mind these factors especially the elite, Neither Khan nor anybody else could change the system as they claim because of the complex nature of it. The system is under a strong hold of elites of Pakistan, the Establishment, and to get into power, one needs their legitimacy. The discourse of changing the system is flawed because of its top-down approach believing in one person to change the whole system. It should be an organized bottom-up approach, changing the elites’ monopoly at the ground level to change the system at the decision-making level.
