As the PDM alliance causes rumours to abound regarding relations between the two main parties in the coalition government – the PML-N and the PPP – it may nonetheless weather the troubled waters. But will the cracks within the now much reduced in size PTI be as lucky? At the moment, the party is not just facing innumerable legal troubles, mushrooming numbers of deserters, and a weak narrative but also criticism from within the party. A PTI senior leader has now been accused by the party of being “confused” and “self-serving” after he criticized PTI Chairman Imran Khan for refusing to negotiate with the PDM. In a TV interview on Monday, Asad Umar said that the PTI’s refusal to negotiate with the PDM was a “big mistake”. He also pointed out that while the PTI polled 16.8 million votes, the PDM parties had bagged 22.5 million votes. He went on to also call the May 9 incidents a wake-up call, and said that while he would oppose any minus-Imran formula, he was not in agreement with the current strategy of the PTI chairman. The interview was enough for the PTI’s media department to issue a scathing two-page-long statement, the Cliffs Notes version of which is: if Asad Umar is not on board with the decisions of Imran or the PTI, he should have just parted ways. In true PTI fashion, the party added that Asad Umar had “remembered to resign” only now that the party is being targeted under a ‘plan’. Harsh words indeed for a PTI stalwart who used to be the poster boy of the party before the 2018 general elections.
At a time when the PTI is facing an astoundingly huge challenge – hundreds of its members and some prominent leaders leaving the party every other day post the May 9 riots – it is quite confusing to see the party react to Asad Umar’s interview by using such harsh language when he is one of the few leaders who have been to jail and yet have not left the party. There had been musings when Umar held a press conference following his release from jail – and yet did not leave the party and only resigned from his party positions – whether he was angling for the post of the party head in case Imran Khan were convicted or decided to step down. Speculations were also rife that this may have been one of the reasons Imran had soon nominated Shah Mahmood Qureshi as his replacement.
Given these reservations and fears, it may not be wholly surprising to see the PTI react so harshly to Asad’s interview even though political experts have been pointing out that there were many in the PTI cadre that had felt the same way. Asad Umar also revealed during his interview that around 80 per cent of PTI MNAs were against resigning from their seats after the vote of no-confidence. This was something analysts had said back then but the final decision was taken by Khan. While some had hailed the resignations a political ‘masterstroke’, voices of caution had pointed out how Imran had given up his trump cards and was left with nothing to bargain with. Umar may not have said anything new or surprising but the PTI’s strong reaction is a clear enough sign that the PTI chairman is not happy with his former trusted aide. Such knee-jerk responses to criticism from within a weak and waning party is not the best strategy for a leader that is standing with his back to the wall. It is time the PTI reflected on its tendency to immediately block out anyone that dares to point out Imran Khan’s strategic mistakes. Already, there has been enough written and said about the need for the PTI to listen to saner minds, and not those that are sitting abroad and looking at this as an opportunity to brush up their social media ratings. Had Imran listened to wiser counsel back in May, things would not have gone down south so fast for the PTI. For example, the PTI should have agreed to the election dates suggested by the PDM instead of insisting on instant dissolution of assemblies. Wait, watch, come back another day is a time-tested strategy by Pakistan’s political parties. The PTI’s experience of being a more molly-coddled party may have allowed it to feel invincible but true politics always keeps an eye on lessons from history. As the former ruling party struggles to survive till the elections, it needs a major overhaul in its tactics, strategy, and narrative formation.