close
Friday March 29, 2024

Imran won’t replace Buzdar

Prime Minister told his team members that he knows who is behind this campaign against him, both, within and outside but, he is in no mood to replace him and he gave this message to all those who might be thinking any change in the setup

By Mazhar Abbas
February 06, 2019

Prime Minister Imran Khan during his recent visit to Lahore passed a strong message to Punjab’s bureaucracy, administration, party and allies that he has no intention to replace sitting Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, and need their cooperation amid criticism on his style of governance and weaknesses.

“Buzdar is here to stay and message was loud and clear,” a close confident of the prime minister told this scribe when he asked about increasing criticism on his capacity and capability to run Pakistan’s biggest province.

Prime Minister told his team members that he knows who is behind this campaign against him, both, within and outside but, he is in no mood to replace him and he gave this message to all those who might be thinking any change in the setup.

Imran and his close quarters were also of the view that Buzdar is facing less challenge from the Opposition than from his own party’s men in the province as he himself was a stranger in the PTI, since he had joined the party just before elections. But this disadvantage became his advantage as he was not part of any lobby when he was nominated as the chief minister.

The PM also believes that the present bureaucratic system in Punjab, still ‘loyal’ to the previous rulers, who had ruled this province for the past 30/40 years and are creating problems for Buzdar and his team.

So it will be interesting to see how a ‘counter campaign’ is launched or how the PTI leaders would defend the Punjab CM. It is for this very reason that government decided to launch a new health scheme by the name of ‘Sehat Insaf Card’ from Punjab. They are confident that this scheme, under which poor people will now get free medical aid up to Rs720,000 medical expenses of the family, will pay its dividend.

If the government succeeded in issuing ‘Sehat Insaf Cards in Punjab in the next six months, this may also help them in the next local bodies elections and would also boost Buzdar’s image.

While his critics still believe that Buzdar was not a good choice and still unable to perform well and cited it as main reason as why party was also finding it difficult to defend him, the premier apparently is in no mood to even give a second thought about a new chief minister.

Sardar Usman Buzdar from Southern Punjab was not PM’s first choice after 2018 elections. The events which unfolded after polls resulted in intra-party rivalries in the PTI in Punjab, with three or four clear candidates in the run for CM slot.

With Jehangir Tareen’s disqualification, Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s defeat on the PA seat and Aleem Khan’s NAB investigation, Imran was left with little choice. He never wanted nominee from any of these groups and former leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly, Mahmoodur Rasheed never had a strong lobby and IK’s lack of confidence in Ch Sarwar, he decided to pick a ‘newcomer’ or someone new in the party, Usman Buzdar. Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry was the other choice but he could not draw strong support within the party and from its ally ie the PML-Q.

Imran also knows what happened during 2013 party elections in Punjab and how party almost looked like a divided house. So even if at any stage he looked for any new name he knew it has to be someone as neutral or non-partisan as Buzdar.

He faced a similar situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when he wanted his former health minister Atif Khan as CM, but faced opposition from his own CM Pervez Khattak. He brought leaders like PK, Asad Kaiser and few others to Centre and named low profile Mahmood Khan as KP chief minister.

Who proposed Buzdar’s name is in itself an unsolved mystery as initially some believed he was JT’s choice other says his name came from PM’s family. But the premier did take Pervaiz Elahi into confidence when he finally decided to nominate him and sought his support since Chaudhrys know Buzdar from the days of the PML-Q government under Gen Pervez Musharraf.

Therefore, when the PML-Q expressed some reservations and showed discomfort with the Punjab government, the PM immediately held meetings with Chaudhrys to address their grievances. Beside other issues, the PM has agreed to include Moonis Elahi in the cabinet.

Imran has also noticed lack of cooperation with the Punjab CM from bureaucracy and administration as he got multiple complaints from his own men and other of delaying tactics who expressed concern that their work was not done and many ‘files’ are still pending at the CM House.

Now he has taken certain decisions about Punjab and some drastic changes in bureaucratic and administrative set-up would be made soon as well as in the police. “The present system needs drastic change. Those who are still loyal to the past rulers have to behave or be ready to go home,” a close confident of the PM said on condition of anonymity.

There seems to be a conspiracy against this government by certain elements, both at the Centre and in Punjab. He cited sudden decision of the increase in gas tariff, which really made the PM angry. “We need to change the system to make elected people more powerful than non-elected,” he added.

The PM was also not happy with the ongoing crisis in the media and particularly with the plight of media workers and journalists. “He has asked the information minister to address this issue on urgent basis and he himself may meet the protesting journalists’ leaders,” close associate of the premier told this scribe.

While the PM is a regular visitor to Punjab’s capital in a bid to repose his confidence on the CM, for the first time he looked perturbed with anti-Buzdar campaign in the media and his team’s failure to counter it.

“He has not even given a second thought about replacing him. On the contrary he has now taken it as a personal challenge to make him (Buzdar) successful,” he added. He believed that a ‘strong system’ in Punjab of the last 30/40 years need to be replaced as many of the bureaucrats and even police officers are still loyal to the past rulers and taking advantage of premier’s policy of ‘non-interference’.

He also took some of the journalists, analysts and columnists into confidence who in the past supported him but were not happy with Buzdar’s choice. He seeks their support for him as he is now trying to change the perception about his most difficult choice.

So the recent confidence given to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar from none other than strong PM Imran Khan, the latter now expect and also advised his Punjab’s captain to play a more proactive role and come strongly in public. It will be interesting to see how the chief minister and his team will improve their image. This is the task given by the PM to them as well as to his party leaders particularly those more active on TV channels.

The writer is an analyst and columnist of Geo, The News and Jang

Twitter: @MazharAbbas