INTERVIEW: ASAD UMAR
The PTI’s brain explains the party’s position
The azadi dharna has definitely outlasted all non-PTI predictions. And it was not without its ups and downs. The numbers disappointed in the beginning; nowhere near the million man march Imran had predicted. But then it generated serious momentum. Whether or not PAT coincidences – Aug 14 drive to Islamabad, same day march on the red zone, same day advance to parliament – played a part is another matter, but PTI definitely had its moments. So much so that there was serious chatter for a time – especially in the build up to the corps commanders meeting – that Nawaz might actually go; that N’s inner circle was panicking, and senior leaders were at each other’s throats. But then opposition parties, led by PPP of course, threw their weight behind the government, and PTI’s moment seemed to have passed. With the military out of the equation and parliament united, and dharna numbers thinning, it became difficult to see what cards Imran had left to play. Javed Hashmi, too, was a jab that left a cut. Yet Imran remains defiant, unwilling to budge till Nawaz resigns.
We have noticed, over time, that whenever PTI’s positions become confusing, nobody explains them better than Asad Umer – he definitely does a better job than the chairman. So it is to him that we turn to process the latest news about PTI. And he is as gracious with his time as he has always been. These are, indeed, serious times, and his time is in much demand. He’s due to go live on Duniya shortly, but gives me the few minutes I need to see what he makes of the last three weeks.
Strategic retreat, perhaps?
My first question is about a strategic retreat. Shouldn’t the party scale back a little, show some flexibility, for the sake of its own relevance if nothing else?
“Not at this point”, he says calmly.
Despite the noise in parliament, it is the government-PTI negotiations that will prove the crucial decider, it seems. And that’s where the PTI is still stronger, he seems certain.
“Even at this point the government is dilly-dallying”, he adds. “We submitted a detailed written document, elaborating each of our six demands. They said they would revert the next day, and came back with their answer six days later”.
And, of course, the answer was disappointing. During talks, that is before PTI stressed on written exchanges, the government team had, apparently, agreed to a 30 day timeframe for the investigation. But when they came back in writing, they left it open-ended, leaving it for the judicial commission to determine the timeline.
And this back and forth, says Umar, is a recurring feature. “Do you still believe their claim of agreement on five-and-a-half points?” he asks.
Since the government has made a habit of going back on its word, and since dishonesty is not among the charges laid on Umar, or Imran for that matter, his explanation makes immediate sense.
But there’s more to what is going on – especially after Aitzaz Ahsan’s assurance to the PM that his government will stay – than convergence or divergence on the six points.
PTI remains the only political party calling for the PM’s ouster. Its means of pressuring the government have been exhausted surely. Has it not lost the initiative?
“Not at all. Absolutely not”, he replies in an instant.
Is this isolation affecting him (like everybody says it is affecting Imran), or is he, too (again like Imran), becoming more rigid as the tide turns against the party, or does he know something we don’t?
Grabbed national narrative
“This is how I can explain it”, he says typically. “When we announced the march, all analysts, media anchors and pundits asked us the same thing: what will this achieve? But then everybody saw just how far we have come through sheer force of the people demanding change. It was raw people power”.
And he made a point of stressing how such “raw people power” is, in fact, the essence of democracy. What was impossible not very long ago was suddenly very possible.
Yet that “raw people power” is a double edged sword, isn’t it? The numbers made a difference, no doubt, but then they started diminishing. Three weeks into the protest, it was natural for them to reduce. Hasn’t the show run out of juice?
This is where he differs from mainstream analysis.
“We have come to a point where numbers are irrelevant”, he explains. “They mattered 10 days ago, but now the focus has shifted. We have repeatedly demonstrated PTI’s ability to gather huge numbers around the country. We did it in Lahore, Karachi, Bahawalpur. We have also done it in Islamabad. Our workers have also demonstrated that they can go the distance, brave difficult weather, even face police brutality. It is definitely important for Imran Khan to stay, but it is not necessary for tens of thousands to be around all the time”.
He has a point. The jiyalas have definitely come of age. He also mentions an argument gaining some traction in the electronic media; that however the protest turns out, Imran has already achieved a considerable degree of success. He has taken the ruling family to the cleaners, discredited the ruling party, reduced its credibility and seriously damaged the government.
“We have grabbed the national narrative”, he says with a sense of pride.
And what about the show of strength in the national assembly?
“It only proves our muk-muka argument”, he hits back. “It was visible for everybody. We actually got hundreds of messages from people, even non-party members, after opposition parties decided to defend the government”.
These messages said, according to Umar, that if these people had “ganged up” against the PTI at this point in time, then the latter must be right. It made him laugh.
How the opposition, especially Aitzaz Ahsan’s dressing down of the government and subsequent spat with Ch Nisar, embarrassed the government while still defending it, must have sat well with the PTI.
“They will always defend each other. If one is exposed, the other will follow”. That’s another argument difficult to dispute.
But the kaptaan?
All this is fine, and as usual Asad Umer is convincing enough. But there are serious issues about Imran Khan that need to be addressed. And the Hashmi episode has once again brought certain issues about his personality to the fore.
Khan just does not listen to anybody. Far too many people have held this line against him, some very close to him for very long. He will stake his life, and reputation, for democracy, yet remains inflexible in his personal outlook.
And now, even when the party is negotiating ending the stalemate with the government, Khan is sticking to the resignation. Isn’t this very harmful? Not just for kaptaan, but also hundreds of thousands of party workers? If his inflexibility costs him his political future, wouldn’t the many followers he has charged with political activism also become irrelevant? In a nutshell, has Imran learned anything from this show?
“Some people project an image of Imran being a difficult listener”, he says. “But I’ll tell you that on issues and principles he has a very black and white stand. He is very clear, and therefore very determined. This is a strength of his character not a weakness”.
He also adds that Imran’s dealing with people, especially those who are passionate about the country and the party, is very democratic.
“I have witnessed numerous instances where people have disagreed with him very strongly. And not only has he listened to them, he also placed them on important positions considering their maturity and commitment. He is the single most reasonable leader in Pakistan”.
There is a slight time lag between the time we go to press and the weekend issue appears in print. And the way things are changing, it is still difficult to give a final call on PTI’s attempt to overhaul Pakistan’s political system. Imran’s belief has clearly not budged an inch. Party workers, too, remain committed, despite reduced numbers. And the Asad Umars of the party seem convinced they can still achieve a lot more than seems possible. For his party’s sake he better be right. A lot more than Imran Khan and Asad Umar’s political future hangs in the balance. But for now he must go live on TV, so other questions must wait for another time.
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