- Faux pas in a month
Hold on, go slow, let me catch up. Too many decisions, too many news and too many updates. The tabdeelis in the nayee hukumat are going too fast. Every day, it seems, is like a marathon. And Pakistan is frantically trying to come first – in every race. But the truth is, the finishing line is still far away.
In many years, Pakistan has found a leader who does not come from the limited, traditional parties the nation had been voting for decades. Not surprisingly, a string of expectations has been attached to the new government, by supporters and critics alike, to bring a fresher perspective to the affairs of the state, a wave of change so desperately the country needs, dubbed tabdeeli.
The speech as the winning contender by Imran Khan, followed by his first address to the nation as prime minister, despite some obvious gaps, was impressive. The sincere and naïve oath taking ceremony was touching. The zeal and energy shown by the new leader is worth appreciating. But a flurry of announcements and decisions by his government has left the Pakistanis breathless and less anticipating for more.
Among the first widely applauded decisions were giving up official residence of the prime minister and also those of other ministers. Said to be converted into educational institutions or museums, it is a good step indeed. But the opening of Governor House for public to come and play cricket on Sundays and leave behind a pile of garbage does not make any sense.
The ministers who make up the new cabinet are themselves mostly old players in the field. And even among them, representation of women and minorities is scarce.
The austerity drive is much talked about and high on the new government’s agenda. Efforts are being made for looted wealth stashed in other countries by former politicians to be brought back. That’s commendable. But the prime minister giving up a convoy of vehicles to commute in a helicopter has become a subject of ridicule. While in defence it has been argued that the helicopter ride costs only 50 rupees per kilometre, it actually costs ‘about 200,000 rupees per hour factoring in fuel, crew, maintenance and inspections’, reports news agency Reuters.
It would have been, perhaps, wiser if announcements were made after careful deliberation and debate. The reaction to Atif Mian’s appointment, which was not unexpected, should have been assessed earlier
Lower-than-expected sales in an auction of government vehicles in use by the former prime minister dealt another setback to the vow of raising quick revenues. The auction raised about 200 million rupees which is one-tenth of the amount predicted, with 61 of 100 vehicles being sold. Nearly three-quarters of the 101 vehicles on offer were more than 10 years old. Two were 32-year-old Toyota Corollas.
A day after taking oath it had been announced that the PM would not travel abroad during the first three months in the power. The PM has in fact traveled to Saudi Arabia and then United Arab Emirates. The visits prove fruitful, it seems, but why make a promise which may not be practical and its denial giving room for criticism?
That he will not use special plane for the foreign visits was a decision taken in the cabinet meeting and instead, will travel through commercial airline. But Imran flew on Air Force One, a special plane for the PM.
The second cabinet meeting had also slapped ban on the foreign visits of the ministers, however, four ministers accompanied Imran to Saudi Arabia: Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry and Abdul Razzaq Dawood.
Other early ideas – to cut some 500 staff from Prime Minister House and establish a six-day work week for civil servants – have been shelved as unworkable. So much for the austerity drive!
Prior to his trip to the Middle East, Khan announced that he would start work immediately to provide passports to the children of Afghan and Bengali refugees born in the country. However, after a strong backlash from various quarters including many politicians, it has been said that no decision had been made.
Perhaps the most disappointing u-turn was on the composition of Economic Advisory Council. Atif Mian, a distinguished economist of global recognition, first named as one of the members and strongly defended despite mounting resistance on Atif’s religious beliefs, was later asked to step down. Although it would have been indeed a brave and breakthrough decision to maintain, it was inevitable to retract due to extreme opposition, which the fragile, newly founded government would have been unable to face.
Hike of more than a 100 percent in gas prices has also come under much ire, with former minister for finance Miftah Ismail fervently reminding his contemporary, Asad Umar, on Twitter about the chide Umar made over raise in gas prices by the previous government, when he was in the opposition.
The appointment at the much sought after position of Chief Minister Punjab – a decision which PM Imran has strongly defended, has also been questioned, due to a history of criminal cases fought by the selected candidate. Khan’s appointment of his close aide Zulfi Bukhari as special assistant to PM for overseas Pakistanis and human resource has drawn much criticism as well, since Bukhari holds dual nationality, is facing charges by National Accountability Bureau and has started a new debate in the media over the term of ‘Special Assistant’ instead of an adviser!
Faux Pas in foreign affairs were yet other embarrassing situations. PM Imran Khan received a call from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo congratulating Khan. A readout issued by the US State Department after Pompeo made the call said that he urged Khan to take action against terror camps inside Pakistan, a claim Foreign Office denied. However, US shared transcript of the conversation to reinforce that discussion on this matter occurred, negating Pakistan’s claim. Fortunately, the two countries decided to give the ties another shot after Pompeo met Imran and his team on his visit to Pakistan this month.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and French President Emmanuel Macron also spoke over the phone, but after a drama over the scheduling of the call. The prime minister was in a meeting with a group of journalists when President Macron first called. On being told by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua about it, the prime minister asked her to get the pre-scheduled call rescheduled!
All this and maybe a bit more has happened during the course of a month. Some breakthroughs have also been made. Saudi Arabia has been asked to join CPEC as the third partner, expected to bring in an investment of $10 billion. This may help Pakistan pull through the cash crunch in a big way, although the implications and expectations of Saudi Arabia from Pakistan in the days to come are yet to be known.
It would have been, perhaps, wiser if announcements were made after careful deliberation and debate. The reaction to Atif Mian’s appointment, which was not unexpected, should have been assessed earlier to the decision being made. His appointment and subsequent resignation resulted in a wave of hope and then a dip of gloom and pessimism. This could have been avoided if the situation was weighed upon prior to the announcement.
The response may have been more encouraging if PM Imran would have said that on his return to the country after his visit to the Middle East, he would invite suggestions and hold a debate over a possibility to provide legal status to children of Afghan and Bengali refugees born in Pakistan. This would be a tremendous move and an issue requiring to be addressed. However raising hopes and then relinquishing them due to strong opposition is not the right approach.
Perhaps, it would be better that initiatives are first deliberated upon. Promotion of actions to be taken is not made unnecessarily. A bit of thinking is done before the action begins. The hopes for naya pakistan are still fresh. A wiser approach could help achieve and avoid u-turns or worse, a point of no-turn.