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Thursday March 28, 2024

Thoughts on governance

By Editorial Board
December 05, 2018

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s first wide-ranging interview with the media since taking power gave a glimpse of how he intends to govern at a time when the country is suffering economically and is divided politically. His thoughts will be particularly worrying for those who had been hoping for an end to the politics of personal destruction and wanted the PTI government to build a broad consensus. Having a razor-thin majority in the National Assembly and in the opposition in the Senate, the only way for the PTI to pass important legislation is by bringing other political parties on board. The situation is hardly unique; both the PPP and PML-N governments managed to legislate even when they did not command majorities in both houses of parliament. But the current prime minister says he will take a different approach, relying on presidential ordinances rather than passing legislation. This is an unwise move that could undermine our democracy. Ordinances by their very nature are temporary and if the PTI wants to build a lasting legacy it needs to work with and within parliament. Even when in opposition, Imran gave short shrift to parliament; but now as the head of government he has a duty to strengthen rather than weaken the ultimate symbol of democracy.

Since it came into power, the biggest criticism of the PTI government has been its frequent U-turns and the impression that the ruling party is making things up as it goes along, with the prime minister and his team frequently not on the same page. PM Imran gave ammunition to those critics during the interview when he talked of the creation of a South Punjab province and talked loosely about early elections. Such speculation should not be coming from the prime minister as all it does is make his own government seem unstable. The same impression was created by Imran’s assertion that he was not even aware that the State Bank of Pakistan had devalued the rupee until he saw it on the news. It is true that the SBP is meant to act independently but on such a major decision one would think the prime minister would at least be informed. This could also be an attempt by Imran to distance himself from negative news, something which has become a trend for the prime minister.

On the economy, the prime minister focused on the missteps of the previous government rather than explaining what his government has done. His reflexive defence of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar over the inappropriate transfer of a DPO hinted that Imran may be as unwilling as previous leaders of accepting wrongdoing in his government. The PTI government is still in its early days and has time to learn the ropes but one hopes it is more accepting of criticism and at least makes an attempt to work with other political parties.