Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan did not appear to be in a mood to spare anyone on Monday. Fresh from a vacation in London with his sons, Mr Khan took his political adversaries as well as violators of party discipline to task.Addressing a press conference at his Bani Gala residence, the PTI chief indirectly asked the military leadership to take its ongoing anti-corruption campaign to Punjab where, he claimed, the “biggest-ever robbery is being committed in the name of mega projects by the ruling PML-N”. He said that since so much had been said about the Nandipur power project and there had been criticism of the exorbitant cost of the Islamabad metro bus project, “the PTI demands a third party audit by some company of international repute”. The PTI chief said that because of recent arrests in Sindh, the PPP had started talking about alleged cases of corruption committed by the federal government such as the LNG import, Islamabad metro bus project, etc, “otherwise, they were happy with a highly compromised National Accountability Bureau and Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly, whose heads have been chosen as a result of their mutual muk-muka”. The criticism on corruption and calls for accountability by Imran Khan are welcome but his track record is not impressive at all. Since the PTI’s agitation movement after the 2013 general elections, the party chief on a number of occasions sought the help from the establishment to dismantle the PML-N government. He also hinted at intervention by the third umpire. If we objectively review the whole dharna (sit-in) episode, it seems controversial due to the alleged involvement of invisible forces. When Imran seeks the establishment’s help in civil affairs, it seems that he has no respect for democracy. By furthering the agenda of the establishment, he has been causing more damage to his own party. Being an elected politician, he should respect democratic norms and should not seek the army’s intervention in affairs that should be dealt with by the concerned civilian government departments/agencies. If the security agencies interfere in the government’s affairs, it can only lead to more chaos. As per the law, all institutions need to work within their given domain and not interfere in each other’s affairs. If the security agencies have to do everything then what is the need for the federal agencies and departments? The government should strengthen its own institutions instead of relying on the security agencies. The government needs to purge all departments of corruption and take punitive action against those who are found involved, irrespective of affiliation with any political party. The debate in the Senate also focused on the same issue. Amid calls for across-the-board and transparent accountability, the PPP told other political entities that mixing corruption with terrorism in an arbitrary and partisan manner would weaken the democratic system. Leader of the Opposition Aitzaz Ahsan lamented the federal government’s indifference towards the ongoing operation in Karachi. In any case, the political system should not be pushed towards collapse and be allowed to work in a democratic way.It is the right of Imran Khan to criticise other political parties but he should not seek help from the ‘third party’ against a democratic regime. He needs to overcome his immaturity. It seems that Imran Khan does not possess a democratic mindset. His tilt towards autocracy could prove disastrous. History testifies that our country has suffered a lot due to military interventions and there should be no such adventurism anymore. Imran Khan needs to apply some wisdom and focus on bettering the organisation of his own party. The idea of across-the-board accountability is not bad, but what about his party stalwarts including the incumbent KP chief minister Pervez Khattak who does not enjoy a good reputation? Though Imran has cancelled the party membership of a former KP minister, the question arises why he inducted him in the first place in his party? Was it the result of his poor judgment? The PTI chief needs to review his policies and political ideology. He should take his personal aptitude and abilities into account. Being an elected politician, he should favour democracy instead of seeking help from the establishment.
pk.shafaqna.com
