There is a difference between leading a team and leading a nation
Last Wednesday after the hearing of the Judicial Commission, the PTI supremo Imran Khan said, “We have placed all the facts and evidence before the Commission and it is now up to its judges to investigate and ascertain the truth”. It clearly meant that the party had concluded its responsibility in regards to its claims of rigging and now was waiting for the verdict of the Commission. But only three days later when the Commission was about the finalise its findings, the PTI lawyer in a letter to the Judicial Commission has requested to expands its role by transforming itself into an Investigative Commission. It has been maintained in the letter that “Further inquiry, either exclusively by the Commission or with the help of political parties had become all the more necessary in view of the evidence, testimony and the material that has been placed on record. One of the glaring matters was the printing of excess ballot papers in several constituencies.” It has also been demanded that the ROs of each national and provincial assembly constituency should be asked to submit a report explaining whether they had complied with the action plan issued by the ECP and if so furnish evidence of such compliance. It has also been requested to seek pre-scan reports prepared by NADRA to examine the extent of the missing electoral rolls and counterfoils.
The tone and tenor of the letter is tantamount to dictating to the Commission as to what needs to be done further instead of the Commission deciding whether any further inquiry or proceedings were required to fulfill its ToRs or not. It also seems a pressure tactic like the statements of Imran Khan during the hearings of the Commission declaring that the PTI had proved the systematic rigging in the elections, kind of a final verdict on the issue which in a way also represents an affront to the authority and jurisdictional domain of the Commission. It is indeed a mind boggling ploy by a party which all along has been insisting on conclusion of the findings at the earliest possible. It had originally demanded the probe within 30 days but it was the government who fixed 45 days period and allowed authority to the Commission to extend the period if it thought necessary. It might take a long time to actually meet the demands of the PTI, assuming that they are agreed to by the Commission and might become a never ending story.
My considered view is that perhaps the legal minds of PTI did not look at the legal implications of the request. It is certainly beyond ToRs mentioned in the Presidential Order setting up the Commission. Changing the role of the Commission would perhaps require change in the ToRs and another Ordinance to provide for that change. But it is not for PTI to say what is required further in completing the probe according to the assigned ToRs. The objective ostensibly seems to procrastinate the issue to avoid the embarrassment that might come the way of PTI after the verdict of the Commission. In view of the foregoing developments one finds it hard to take an issue with the assertion of the Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid that the new demand of PTI was meant to plunge politics of Pakistan into a quandary to undermine the national development goals.
A detailed look at the proceedings of the Commission also suggests that the PTI and other political parties who appeared before the Commission could not present any solid evidence to support their claims. Even PTI has been shifting its emphasis and finally it came to agitating the issue of printing of extra ballot papers by the ECP. It is pertinent to mention that the printing of extra ballot papers has been a standard practice by the ECP during all the previous general elections. The PTI never insisted on calling the persons and institutions whom Imran Khan has been alleging to have played a role in the systematic rigging, for recording their evidence before the Commission or being cross-examined by its lawyers. If the emphasis is now on only holding the ECP responsible for rigging through printing of extra ballot papers then it negates the earlier stance of PTI with regard to involvement of other institutions and individuals who were repeatedly named by Imran Khan during his public rallies and sit-ins to have orchestrated the stealing of his mandate.
Imran remains enigmatic as ever. Since the launch of his campaign on rigging, almost one year after the elections, he has taken so many somersaults on the issue that even he himself would be unable to figure out from where he started and where he is going to end his sojourn of naivety, impulsiveness and the aura of self-righteousness to the exclusion of all others. Instead of indulging in mud-slinging and character assassination of other political figures and the public institutions, he needs to mellow down his flambuoyancy and the impulsive streak to dictate to others. Only then he can prove to be a good politician. He also needs to cast off his hallucination about being the most popular politician and his party being the most sought after political entity. The results of recent by-elections in Punjab and elections for legislative assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan where he personally went to campaign should be an eye opener for him.
The PML-N undoubtedly remains the most popular political party in the country at the moment and denting its popular graph would require politics of sanity and reason, which Imran Khan regrettably lacks. Being aggressive when required is a virtue but employing it all the time and even going to the extent of abusing others and hurling unsubstantiated allegations against them does not make one a real political leader. That is not to say that Imran is not a popular leader. Of course he is, but if he continues with the antics that he has been practising, the position could be a lot different as and when his party goes to the polls next time. He has proved himself to be a traditional politician looking to grab power by hook and crook instead of going for a radical change in the political system. Claims of bringing revolution with the help of the likes of a political parasite like Sheikh Rasheed, a truncoat like Shah Mahmood Qureshi and a business tycoon like Jehangir Tareen, is nothing but a farce. Khan sahib must realise that there is a difference between skippering a cricket team and aspiring to lead a nation.
