How Imran Khan and PTI outsmarted others

ISLAMABAD: In promotion of a democratic culture within the political parties, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has outsmarted all his contemporaries in the political arena besides disappointing some influential leaders of his party by submitting himself to the decisions of the Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed-led PTI tribunal.
After confronting the decisions of the tribunal and even trying to get it dissolved reportedly because of the influence of some controversial, influential personalities surrounding him in the PTI, Imran Khan has finally conveyed to Justice (retd) Wajih and the other member of the tribunal, Yousaf Malik Gabol, that he needs three weeks to implement the tribunal’s decision.
The tribunal, which met on Monday, reluctantly allowed the party chairman the three-week time to implement its decisions but, in the same sitting, the tribunal restored the PTI’s Standing Committee for Accountability and Discipline, which was dissolved by the party just recently.
These developments within the PTI though make headlines in the media as the party’s tribunal continues to challenge its own chairman, the positive side of the whole affair is the evolution of democratic values and culture within political parties which otherwise is unheard of in a country like Pakistan.
Sources in the PTI insist that the situation of confrontation between Imran Khan and the tribunal was caused by certain influential elements who feel their status and influence were threatened because of the accountability system being evolved in the party.
These sources said that after the latest order of the tribunal restoring the PTI’s Standing Committee for Accountability and Discipline, such elements were again trying to poison the party chairman against Justice Wajih-led tribunal whose working has surprised many.
In Pakistan, the political parties lack democratic values and there is no question of challenging the decision of the party leadership.
Perhaps impressed by the same mindset, Imran Khan initially issued the order of dissolving the tribunal after the body sought implementation of its decisions. When the tribunal rejected these orders of the party chairman and found them having no legal backing, Khan again issued a notification for dissolving the tribunal around such time when he had been summoned by it.
The tribunal again rejected the chairman’s notification and conveyed to the entire top leadership of PTI that though the party believed in “Naya Pakistan”, it had nothing different from the “existing Pakistan”.
The tribunal continued with its proceedings and even reflected in one of its orders how the chairman was avoiding to present himself before the judicial body of his own party.Despite opposition of the chairman and other party leaders, the tribunal issued show cause notices to the likes of Jehangir Tareen for objectionable acts. It also showed its resolve to continue working in the best interest of the political party.
This situation led to the issuance of a statement from Imran Khan in which he requested Justice Wajih to stand down but the latter again rejected it and insisted that he would continue doing his job in an independent judicial body of the PTI.
After a few weeks of confrontation, Imran Khan, a few days back, submitted to the decisions of the party tribunal by conveying it to both Wajih and Gabol that he would require three weeks to implement the tribunal’s decisions.
The Wajih tribunal in its meeting on May 4 said that although it was already too late to implement the tribunal’s decisions, it was still giving three weeks to the chairman to appoint caretakers for fair and transparent intra-party elections.
In the same sitting, the tribunal ordered the immediate restoration of PTI’s Standing Committee for Accountability and Discipline which is ceased with cases against the likes of Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Aleem Khan and others.