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Friday March 29, 2024

The show goes on

By Iftekhar A Khan
April 30, 2016

Fleeting moments

The PTI has just celebrated its 20th Foundation Day to remind people of its long political struggle. The objective of all parties, political or religious, is the same – power.

But something that can be safely said about PTI chief Imran Khan is that he is focussed. As a former cricketer, Imran Khan knows the importance of keeping ‘an eye on the ball’. Focussing on the fast moving ball is as important in cricket as it is in tennis. As a veteran tennis player, I realise the importance of watching the fast approaching serve or volley; otherwise, one could get hit in the face.

After relinquishing playing cricket and entering into politics, Imran didn’t forget the basics – eye on the ball. He now uses his talent by training his eyes on a single objective: how to become the prime minister of the country. The anger he spews against PM Nawaz Sharif is not because of any personal grudge or an age-old animosity but for where Nawaz Sharif is ensconced. Imran has moved from tsunami march to dharna to protests only to dislodge the PM and lodge himself instead.

Imran Khan boasts of creating a new Pakistan. He thinks he can do that only if he’s the prime minister of the country. The PTI has been in power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the last elections in 2013. Has Imran been able to reform the province to present it as a role model for other provinces to follow? No. The health facilities in many hospitals in KPare reported to be in a shambles.

However, the Panama Leaks have come as a godsend opportunity for Imran Khan to build a case against the prime minister. The revelation about the PM’s sons owning offshore companies has obviously shaken the government. And Imran Khan is wasting no time in stirring the issue. Initially, the government appeared flummoxed by the disclosure. Then the damage control team entered the fray.

In TV shows, the PML-N’s articulate defender Daniyal Aziz has deftly repulsed the onslaught by the opposition parties, mainly the PTI. Daniyal is versatile or ambidextrous if you will. He was equally zealous when he played on the PML-Q turf to malign the present leadership, which was then at the receiving end. Politics has no permanent friends or foes, only permanent interests.

Has the PTI vote-bank suffered or gained because of the party chief’s flair for protests? It seems the party has cascaded downward since the dharna days. First, it was Justice (r) Wajihuddin, head of the PTI election tribunal, who disagreed with the party chairman on issues of intra-party elections and was promptly removed from his position. Even his basic membership of the party was revoked.

Then the PTI’s chief election commissioner, Tasnim Noorani, resigned on somewhat similar grounds – unhappy with the chief’s dictatorial style of imposing his will. Showing the door to Justice Wajihuddin, a man of indisputable probity, was unfair. People think that moneyed boys are closer to Khan’s heart and the old guards, the principled ones, have distanced themselves from him. The chief knows best.

Many will agree that corruption is so endemic that the entire administrative system of the state seems saturated with it. In some areas, the corruption is institutionalised. It is part of the system and everyone knows it. Going by the proceedings of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, the Senate doesn’t seem amenable to initiate any serious inquiry into Panama Leaks. Neither does the State Bank want to involve itself in it.

We only have to wait until more Panama Leaks surface on the scene in May, after which the life will be what it has always been: life as usual.

The writer is a freelance columnist based in Lahore.

Email: pinecity@gmail.com