The last one year for PTI’s tsunami
This critique and evaluation is not about the person but about the policies and standards Imran Khan has set so far. The last one year has been extremely phenomenal for Imran Khan’s PTI as it rose and ranked at an extremely rapid pace. Imran Khan’s struggle which kicked off on the basis of principles and anti status quo mantra finally earned him some results. The success of dharnas against drones started getting the attention and the sentiment paid off, as PTI holds a good ground on the country’s political spectrum. Imran Khan has established himself as a crowd puller and the master of bashing. Imran Khan captivated the masses not with his haywire speeches but with his persona as The Imran Khan. The jalsa at Quetta was yet another testament of this success. However, it again had less substance and more bashing.
Treating PTI as a modern day rocket, it ran the risk of being mishandled and that’s exactly what happened with it. Even Mr Khan admits that PTI went out of control after the historic Lahore jalsa. Lahore’s jalsa was perhaps the first time when Imran Khan realised that he had the sharpest knife in his hand to cut the support of his proclaimed political opponents. Interestingly, this also was the time when Imran Khan’s self defeating moves triggered off. IK claimed way back in 1990s in his first election campaign that “Pakistani qaum dobara wo andhera nehi daikhna chahay ge. Azmayay hoay logon ko dobaara nei azmayay ge”, meaning that the people of Pakistan wouldn’t want to elect the tested and old faces in politics. It was completely the opposite that happened after 30th October 2011. The infamous “coalition of crooks” is now a part of the PTI.
The ideological supporters of PTI were deeply astounded by the moves IK made. They believed that Imran Khan should have challenged the might with what he had, the gusto and passion of new faces. I find them right in saying that people came for Imran Khan and not for Mian Azhar and Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed. If IK is right to say, which he is, that it’s the leadership which makes the policies and standards to follow, then why take these relics of the past on board.
Make no mistake that Lagharis, Tareens, Kasuris, Qureshis and Hashmis are nothing but relics of the past and IK’s change agency would always struggle with them. Not just these big names but people who were once Nazims in Musharaff’s regime are now part of PTI. They don’t cling on to PTI for a national cause but for their own political survival. Their role was marginalised in their parent parties hence they found themselves a new band wagon. However, there is nothing wrong with this practice if one does power politics but it simply doesn’t go with IK’s rhetoric of change. Remember, IK wooed to change the system and wasn’t just power hungry. I still condone whatever has taken place so far since Imran Khan puts up a valid defence that his Parliamentary Panel will have the final word in giving tickets. However, I have reasons to be doubtful about it.
Taking it further, PTI’s response on 20th Amendment was again a case of misplaced anger. Firstly, the passage of 20th Amendment was necessary after the Supreme Court’s clear instructions regarding the fate of 28 seats of national and provincial assemblies. Secondly, after the 20th Amendment, the role of the President of the country, who IK had all the doubts about, in forming caretaker setup, was completely taken out and was shaped into a multi staged process. It’s not someone’s fault that PTI doesn’t have any representation in the Parliament so far.
Moreover, IK’s decision to boycott the bye-elections was again a gross miscalculation. PTI boycotted under the pretext that the electoral rolls had not been revised and carried fake voters list. Firstly, this was a case of misinformation for PTI and IK. The Election Commission had revised the electoral rolls of the constituencies where the bye-elections were held. The SC was informed and the Election Commission had even issued a press release in this regard. For instance, just in PS 57-Badin, 27000 duplicate votes were taken out. Now either Election Commission is lying or IK had been misinformed in this regard. Secondly, PTI lost what could have been an excellent litmus test for IK’s voters turn out. The stalwarts like Shah Mehmood Qureshi have been found dreading and criticising this decision by PTI.
Nevertheless, PTI should now make all the efforts to translate the strength of its rallies and jalsas into electoral votes. The membership campaign by PTI is a welcome move and it will enable the leadership to devise a strategy for the upcoming general elections. I hope Mr Khan is mindful of people’s expectations which have simply gone to another level. The words like “Hope” and “Change” have a different meaning in Pakistan’s politics now.
The writer hosts a prime time talk show. He can be contacted at [email protected]
Good analysis of the PTI's contribution to the confusion of the voters rather than imparting them clear vision of political dynamics. How should Pakistanis come out of the strife between PPP and PML N?
so lets keep voting to PPP and PMLN right?
Come on man PTI has given hope the nation which we lacked before.
one or two political mistakes does not make PTI bad party nor it make IMRAN KHAN corrupt
Man is not god, So he has some good & bad habits.one or two political mistakes does not make PTI bad party nor it make IMRAN KHAN corrupt ,Iam agree with it . Everybody should think about it.
Those who criticize Imran Khan on taking old faces in party should understand that he has to win the Elections.
Under current system of Elections even Abdul Sittar Edhi cant win against Jamshed Dasti.
PTI need strong candidates to win elections.
And as for as taking part in bye elections is concerned I totally disagree with U.
What could PTI do in parliament by winning 5 seats? What would happen had SMQ joined parliament again on PTI ticket? We all know he can win elections even as an independent candidate. This is dirty politics my dear 🙂
Your whole story around the articulated phrase "Coalition o f Crooks" will not jeopardize the PTI idealogy. You need to learn more of journalism. Your critique is based on immature analysis. Pl. be wise and analyze the good with the bad under current circumstances of the country. I believe you know it more than me but for some reasons ???//
If election winning is the sole change PTI can muster, then what is wrong with PPP or PML N or Q League? People need change but they don't want retrograde step.
The author was doing allright till he talked about election byecott.He should have talked about PML(N)backing out alongwith JUI-F that has brought about current state of affairs in the country.I was disappointed to note the concluding paras that smell of a article sponsored by PTI opponents.
Very good analysis, but have you ever meet the average Pakistani voter? They don’t even want to
Vote for Imran because he is new and you my dear want Imran to bring the change with all new faces? Are you willing to vote for new people? No you will not?
So far Imran has done very good, it’s easier to point finger but compare Imran to Z and NS for once, please write the
post comparing Imran with the current people in parliament, will you?
Mr Khan…no need to compare IK with AAZ & NS etc ; all hv proved to be insincere towards the country….so let us try PTI…the country will not be worse than what it is TODAY…..remember..these 2 main political parties will form a joint strategy alongwith PML Q to put up against PTI in coming election…remember these words…bcz all are crooks….that is what this country has been blessed with TODAY…
u missed core point , why ik blindly playing in the hands of terrorists even terrorist minded media men use him as a tool to see dreams.
IK cant do any thing substantial bcoz he lives in the fantasy of abused aqeeda e jihad who just destroy & kill innocents !
With his right wing orientation, Imran Khan is able to garner the support of the aggressive religious right & impatient middle class. In case PTI comes into power, this marriage of inconvenience will implode with horrific consequences for the masses. Lets keep our fingures crossed…
Imran khan comes from the Burger class along with shah Mehmood Qureshi, both studied at Aitchean college. This breed has no clue of the problems of pakistan.
I believe Nawaz studied In Govt .College Lahore. Did he have a clue about problems facing Pakistan as the PM or does he have clue now.? He is too good to eat Burgers–he prefers Halva.
Nawaz prefers "lasi" and he can not think out of the box after drinking lasi…cheers Dr sahib
Bakwas….Again…Tum SAFMA ke bchey jamoore kuch bhi keh lo, Pakistani kom ab bahot samajhdar ho gayee hai tum jaison ke dhoke main nehi aaye gi, han aisa kar ke tum log dollars khoob ikathey kar lo gey……
Yellow Journalism at its best
Najam Sethi and Co used to brand Imran Khan as 'im the dim' for his upright politics, now that he has more 'electables' in party they see him as part of the “coalition of crooks”.
So much for consistency in critique…..What does this say about the analytical ability of Najam Sethi and Co ???
i dont agree with you… you thin election commission said it and you believed that the rolls were changed? contact mubashar lucman and he will show you the proofs of how many bogus votes were there and the elections were done on those bogus lists… but lets assume that election commission was telling the truth… the rolls were changed..but there is a constitutional requirement to display the lists for public and then corrections done…did the EC do that? no… they just announce like that…and then we saw wahida shah etc… and lets suppose IK PTI has won all 10 seats in bye elections…would it make any difference to the other 332 plus 104 senators sitting? i dont know the motive behind your article but i can tell you that the options we have in pakistan, there is no better than IK and PTI… we cannot wait for the time when angels will come to pakistan and make a party and contest elections… we have to chose between IK and the status quo… even if PTI is able to bring 10 percent of a change..wouldnt it be better? we are 200percent worse than we were in 2008;… and if God forbid, we again decide to elect the present parties, i dont know what will be our condition in 2017… already we are out of electricity, gas, PIA, WAPDA, Railway, Investment, Sports, Peace..etc…
and those of you who think that people who does not follow american agenda are extremists then i can tell you they are as much pakistanis as you are…and they are in millions…so you want to bomb them? your own countrymen like doing it for 8 years in FATA? what did we gain? suicide blasts in lahore, karachi, peshawar, faisalabad etc? wake up… drop this pseudo liberal cloak … think about the next generation… and they will remember us as the generation who were ruled by NS and Z… the choice is yours…
on a different note… please anybody can remind our so-called leader of the opposition (opposition of awaam) ch.nisar that who is forcing marvi memon, amir muqam with the 400 others and the whole provincial organization of pml-q plus merging a whole SNF into pml-n? another IJI in the making? and where is their movement of go zardari go and early elections? afraid of tsunami? come on.. first you were talking about lotas..then talking about ISI then establishment..and one by one all these charges are coming on the face of pml-n… i wonder now what is their next charge against PTI? perhaps the 11 year rule of ayub khan or the martial law of zia was infact helped by PTI and IK?
any logical response (which would be a miracle coming from a pml-n worker) would be highly appreciated…
Dear Mr. Democrat, the first thing I would request you to do is to clear your mind of the obvious bias against PML-N (I guess being a PML-N hater is a prerequisite for all PTI members). And I am sure you won't find my reply "logical" as I am a PML-N worker and your typical stereotype will translate any comment into being "illogical" as long as it comes from PML-N and its workers !
Coming to the questiosn posed by you……Remember the term "electables" ? It is under the same category of falling under the "electables" category that the likes of Amir Muqam and Marvi Memon are joining PML-N. The PTI invented rule of not being financially corrupt does not apply anymore ? Or is it applicable only to electables joining PTI ? Please stop believing that the only righteous people in this land are in PTI only and the rest are all corrupt.
Making of IJI and supporting Zia's martial law is as clear to people of this land as are some of the downsides attributed to Mr. Imran Khan and some (if not all) of PTI leaders. Therefore, let the election day come and let the people decide whoever they wish to vote for.
As far as the Go-Zardari-Go movement is concerned, it is eating the same dust as is Hakumat-Hatao-Mulk-Bachao and the Civil Disobedience against Non-Declaration-of-Assets movements' are. Oh I just remembered, in words of Mr. Khan it is all a Noora Kushti, which reminds me of a conspicuous silence of Mr. Khan and his friends about the atrocities committed by MQM, which was once considered a Mafia by Mr. Khan. Has the Mafia suddenly mended its ways or is it that PML-N has become a bigger Mafia ??? Ok MQM only has 18 seats…. is that why ? Does Moulana Fazal-ur-Rehamn hold more seats than MQM, being the target of Khan Sb's wrath these days ?
My request to you is to clear your mind of stereotypes and call a spade a spade, instead of criticizing the lesser evil all the time, only because targeting PML-N's vote bank is the easiest political strategy to adopt for PTI and Mr.. Imran Khan !
Mr. Muneeb Farooq & Mr. Sethi have repeatedly stated that not taking part in by-polls is a major miscalculation by Imran Khan & PTI. It may or may not be the case. Indeed it proved to be a major disadvantage for PPP in 1985 elections under Zia, but at this time an altogether different dynamic is in play.
PPP was a well organized party at that time, whereas PTI is just gaining momentum. To organize the party properly and idetnify winnable candidates before going into general elections is more important than participating in a few by-election polls, where the entire Government machinery and a pro-PPP Chief Election Commissioner would have done their utmost to defeat PTI. It may still have won some seats, but having one or two representatives in parliament for a year is of no consequence. Now that an independent Election Commission will be in place, and Government machinery will be spread thin in a general election, Imran's strategy is sound to wait until then and make a major breakthrough.
Remember, no one gave a chance to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's newly created PPP in 1970, and yet he swept most of the seats in West Pakistan with unknown candidates. When people get fed up of status quo, they rise and deliver a verdict. If PTI can ensure that most of the eligible under 30 youth register their vote and actually vote on election day, history may be repeated. However, regardless of who wins, an exciting general election is ahead.
The decision of bycott was absolutely correct…. people in govt have always won the bye-elections…. if you agree with me… see in the history….
Muneeb Sab- with all due respect, making an attempt to write a moderate article on PTI & IK would not change the impression that readers have about you. IF electronic media has exposed politicians to public than Social Media has done same to our journalists. Since you have "FAILED" foresee the rise of Imran Khan, why should the readers pay any attention to your analysis predicts about the future anyway? Regards- Tariq Bashir
I am shocked to see that most of the readers have criticized the personality of Mr Muneeb as being the co-host of Mr Sethi. It is unfair approach. He has written the article in his personal capacity, therefore he should not be associated with the veteran journalist whether you like him or not. Moreover, in political debate, personality of the writer should be spared. One has right to agree/disagree with his views. It is right exercised by every individual but don't debase anyone.
I agree.
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