- Herculean labours await him at every step
The PTI chief has seemingly achieved his 22-year old dream and is well set on becoming the country’s next prime minister within two weeks, albeit at the head of a still unclear coalition government composed of heterogeneous elements with divergent aims, the first complication of not achieving a simple majority on his own steam by reaching the magical figure of 172 in a House of 342. Mathematically, he needs precisely 137 directly elected seats, while corresponding reserved seats for women and minorities would furnish him with the constitutionally requisite number, though he would obviously prefer a bigger majority to meet all eventualities, such as blackmail and desertions by pound-of-flesh opportunists, and to fulfill his own wide-ranging and ambitious programmes. There are also rumours of factional infighting and rumblings of discontent within his party, at various levels.
The myriad problems confronting the incoming administration are daunting indeed, and cannot be wished away, resolved with simplistic formulae, or made to vanish with a wizard’s magic wand. They have to be confronted head on without wasting a moment, with rigorous political will, vision and courage, attributes unfortunately lacking previously, but now absolutely of the essence considering the alarming deterioration in all spheres. These encompass almost terminal malaise afflicting the ravaged national economy, requiring a record IMF bailout package of well over $10 billion this time, the desperate foreign policy dilemmas, Afghan peace, eroding relations with US and India, tightrope balancing act between Iran and Saudi Arabia, all intensified by absence of a foreign minister for four long years, security situation made perilous due to internal confusion still persisting in discriminating between ‘terrorists’ and ‘extremists’, perpetual US cries to ‘do more’ on alleged safe havens and outlawed outfits, and FATF ‘black’ list sword dangling since June 2018 ‘grey’ listing.
But Imran khan’s great test will be to keep hope and national-community spirit alive, make key appointments strictly on merit, avoid fawning yes-men, and move swiftly to alleviate the suffering of marginalised social segments, as 55-60 million citizens live below poverty line, while unemployment stands at six percent. In sharp contrast to former rulers, he should be ‘more skilled to raise the wretched, than to rise’.