In a wide-ranging speech delivered over national television on Sunday night, Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Imran Khan put before the people his elaborate agenda for the future of the country. PM Imran Khan’s first official address to the nation as PM was an opportunity for him to show that the PTI’s soaring rhetoric could be turned into a realistic governing plan. The jury is still out on whether that can be achieved but as a wish-list of the new government’s agenda it was effective in conveying the scope of Imran’s ambitions. The prime minister didn’t restrict himself to a broad outline of his economic and security vision; he ran the gamut of policies. The best part of the speech was the focus he put on vital but criminally-ignored challenges like climate change. He promised to do something about land grabbing, especially from widows, and encouraged the creation of more public spaces for women.
On other issues, though, the speech was a triumph of hope over reality. He promised to lift the debt burden from the country, but his promise of doing this through greater revenue collection has been made by every government that preceded his. None were successful and as yet there is no evidence of plans that will make the PTI government’s efforts any different. Imran wants us to move away from international loans and the onerous conditions they bring but once again there was no follow through on how this can be realistically achieved.
On education, Imran was particularly forceful in calling for madressah reform but the track record of the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where vast sums of money were diverted to a place like Darul Uloom Haqqania, gives cause for pause. There is the additional problem that education and health are provincial subjects under the 18th Amendment to the constitution and so the federal government’s powers are restricted. PM Imran Khan did recognise this problem when talking about police reform so hopefully Imran realises the limitations that are placed on him and uses his moral authority as prime minister to set an example. Equally important are the topics that did not get the same attention in the speech. There was scarcely a word about CPEC at a time when there is a debate about the merits of the vast development programme.
It was also telling that Imran had little to say about terrorism beyond promising to implement the National Action Plan. Militancy reared its ugly head during the election campaign and Imran has often been accused of wanting to appease militant groups. He needs to give the country a clear idea of how he plans on tackling this menace. This aside, the prime minister was admirably comprehensive. It is good to hear a Pakistani prime minister openly talking about child abuse and the stunting of children in the country. These are issues we have in the past frequently chosen to simply ignore or look away from. We now have an agenda on which this government can be held accountable. The words were refreshing to hear but the real test starts now as his government tries to put his speech into action.