There are rumors that PTI has been sold through a clandestine deal without open bidding to ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) that surround the Kaptaan. For the consummation of the sale the assets have to listed and then transferred to the buyer. The main obstacle in this transaction is that the party comrades and workers have refused to be a part of this unholy act as such major doubts have been created. Legitimacy of the deal is in question.
Taking the 18th amendment into consideration point of views differ. Some believe that as founder Chairman Imran Khan owns the party, those who disagree have to leave while others are of the opinion that workers are the real asset of the party and cannot be taken for granted. The term Head Hunter is usually used for recruiters but the practice itself ended about two centuries so it is not applicable today. Humans mostly in Africa were captured and enslaved to be sold to land owners mostly in America to work as captive farm labour. In under developed countries like Pakistan the Brick kiln owners also indulge in forced labour practices, however, political parties are free of this scrooge.
The workers of political parties like PTI are driven by ideology. Unlike money driven parties like PML-N, the PTI workers are unpaid volunteers who desire to give not take. Their commitment is for change, they neither quit not run away when faced with adversities. After 70 years of upheavals the country is ready for ‘Insaaf’ that has been denied to the common man. Ideologues are not saleable commodity and will never be apart of any party sell out either to the ATMs or the establishment whatever the case may be. Ideology is a trait that not even money can buy. It is rightly said “Once a Comrade, always a Comrade”, so compromise is out of question.
In the seventies the Comrades played a major role in bringing Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) to power. At one point Comrade Mairaj Mohammed Khan was heir apparent to ZAB. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) started off well and remained an effective progressive political force till 1975. Under able secretary Generals like J. A. Rahim and Dr. Mubashir Hasan the party was well run. Then the sell out started. ZAB surrendered himself with status-quo politicians. The Comrades refused to be a part of the party sale. Finally when ZAB was toppled there was no one to fight for him and he ended up on the gallows.
During the time of property boom, plazas and high rise building were being built all over. It was considered good investment. In Lahore several projects were launched Developers were smart they kept ownership of the land and the roof while the space in between was sold to the investors. There was a quick turnover, each unit was sold several times to generate profit. Then the bubble burst, property values came crashing down. In Dubai people were forced to abandon their apartments and offices and walk away. The ones on the ground and the roof remained, the space in between fell into their lapse.
PTI started from ground zero in April 1996 with Imran Khan as the founder Chairman. Till 2007 it remained a ‘Tonga Party’ when Comrade Ahsan Rashid a founding member was appointed President of Punjab. Ahsan Sabhi was honest and dedicated individual who selflessly launched the movement. In the absence of both main stream parties leadership (PPP, PML(N)), PTI emerged as a major player in the Lawyers Movement. In the lawyers long march the PTI flotilla was very impressive and consisted of youth who came out in support of rule of law. Under Ahsan Sahib’s leadership the highest point of the party was achieved with the massive ‘Jalsa’ at Minar-e-Pakistan on October 30 2011. By the next big show of strength at Mazar-e-Quaid on Dec 25, 2011 the investors took over the party, with Kaptaan on top at the roof and the workers on the ground they took control of the middle space in between.
Kaptaan is an honest, credible politician who has attained celebrity status through his over two decades of political struggle. He has a brand name which is admired by youth in general and party workers in particular. Goodwill has to be earned not brought as PTI investors have been trying to do since October 30, 2011. There is folklore about Hazrat Data Gunj Buksh the patron saint of Lahore. One of his disciples once requested that his robe should be given to him after the death of the master so that he could also be blessed. Data Sahib replied even if I give you my skin you will still be judged by your own conduct. Only your deeds can salvage you nothing else can make a difference.
As a party PTI is blessed with credible leadership at the top and committed grass root workers on the ground. There is hardly any space for the investors; they remain implanted outsiders in the party. Even Kaptaan’s brand name cannot market them. Like the property boom this bubble is bound to burst, it is only a matter of time. Sooner or later they too will abandon their spaces and walk away as a bad investment. Workers are the life line of the party as they operate at the ground level and win elections. The leader at the top does matter but alone he is just a celebrity. Ideology binds a party together which, can neither, be sold nor assumed. The movement for ‘Insaf’ and ‘Tabdeeli’ is now un-stoppable.
Kaptaan has to decide to keep his holy robes and lead the crusade or hand them over to his new found disciples who seek political salvation by buying them to covering their misdeeds of the past.
