- Imran Khan should save himself before the budget
For more than a year past, the winds of change have graced us with their presence. The initial and foremost change was the shift from the Sharif family to Imran Khan’s PTI. Imran and company are supposed to be the saviours in our times of distress. The economic anguish faced by the country does in fact need saving.
Unfortunately, no one person can solve the existing predicament overnight, that much remains settled. However, the expectations of the general public remain high and more importantly what remains missing is the perception. The image, the selling points or the aura, whatever we may choose to call it. Each government around the world has an image which is driven by their feeble attempts to work on a given project. It doesn’t matter if they eventually succeed or not, what matters is the narrative sold to the voting public and the perception created whilst at it.
For obvious reasons, Imran Khan miscalculated Punjab to begin with. He did try to sell a narrative of his own, only to find it unsuccessful. The people of Punjab don’t care if their leader belonged to a rural area and was acquainted with the everyday quandaries of the common man. What they care about is a man capable enough to solve some of their problems if not all, or at the least be seen to be solving them.
Usman Buzdar, for all intents and purposes, failed on all of those accounts. To begin with, he himself appeared camera-shy and was unable to create a narrative of his own. To top it all, he was bestowed with Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan as the face of his government. Instead of creating a notion of respect, the latter was successful in dispensing with what little the Punjab government had left. No wonder, he was shown the door for failing to do his job. From the day Mr Buzdar took oath of office, it was evident that he was bound to fail practically. Most unfortunately for him, he even failed to sell a narrative and create a perception at all. On the contrary, he only contributed in damaging the existing image of his party.
moving forward with Buzdar will only pave way for the Sharif family to crawl up the ladder of power once again
Second comes the comparison that the people draw between Buzdar and his predecessor. Shehbaz Sharif, who, though may not have been a true leader, was yet considered effective by most. The erratic behaviour managed to keep the bureaucratic wheel spinning. Whatever projects he got after, were completed on time. Whether or not those projects were the need of the hour is a separate debate, what matters is that the work undertaken was completed.
Mr Buzdar, on the other hand, is failing with each passing day. The Punjab government appears to be at a standstill with no brightness in sight. Naturally, a person with zero administrative experience is being made to rule the heart of Pakistan. One can only wonder why things are not moving forward. More bothersome is the arrogance about acknowledging a mistake. Rather than admitting to his blunder and replacing Mr Buzdar with a better, more worthy choice, Imran Khan continues to defend his knight in shining armour.
Even the existing projects of the previous government seem to be at a standstill. The bureaucracy appears to be insulted by being graced with Mr Buzdar as their head. This coupled with the NAB’s hanging sword is enough to woo them away from doing their jobs.
For one thing, Imran has remained true to his words by firing those he considers unworthy of the job. If Usman Buzdar was appointed on trial basis only to see if it would work, then Imran Khan needs to realise that the trial failed before it even began. Asad Umar, despite the country being told tales of his expertise, was shown the door, that too within a short span of time. The finance minister’s sacking did come as a surprise to many but it cemented Khan’s stance of rooting out incompetence.
Though, in Punjab’s case, incompetence itself was introduced by the Prime Minister himself and the favoured choice continues to receive a pat on the back. However, in spite of Khan’s continued praise, the winds of change can be felt at the core of the Punjab government. At the moment, it can’t be ascertained whether the wind will blow from the south or not. What is for sure is the wind blowing, and taking away Usman Buzdar along with it.
The conspiracies being unravelled regarding a change after the first budget, are not entirely based upon falsehood. By the time the first budget is introduced, almost a year will have passed by since the PTI government came in. Punjab is yet to see any change or improvement in its governance. Hopefully, the change this time round will be for the greater good.
Time is very short for the PTI leader, and he needs to act fast and replace the epitome of incompetence with a more seasoned and experienced leader. One who has administrative experience and can get along well not only with governmental departments but also has friends across the aisle. It seems that the Eid holidays will pass by in a close huddle for Imran Khan, in order to pick a better choice for Punjab. If the rumours are true, the new CM Punjab will assume office after Eid and the first budget. Let’s hope this time round the sense prevails over the Prime Minister and he makes a worthy choice.
It would be disastrous if, even under the prevalent circumstances, Imran Khan chooses to proceed with Buzdar. The already flimsy numbers in the provincial assembly will be shattered by the next election if Usman Buzdar leads the PTI into polls. Not only would the people be disheartened, but moving forward with Buzdar will only pave way for the Sharif family to crawl up the ladder of power once again. It is imperative that Imran Khan, without wasting a day’s time, replaces his man in Punjab. Without Punjab, there will be no government, success, popularity or even progress.
