LAHORE - What is it that Imran Khan has done and ‘fascinated’ people from other parties to an extent that they are joining the PTI in droves? Is it any previous achievement of the cricketer-turned-politician that has dawned upon them now, or has the PTI chief done something during the past few weeks that has attracted the electables to him?
Apparently, except for intensifying his fight against the PML-N leadership, Imran has done nothing else. And it’s only the change of the game plan that people who can be characterised as ‘power-worshippers’ are joining the PTI. These people have been told by the relevant quarters that Imran Khan will play an important role on the political scene in the weeks and months ahead. It is because of this tip that Banigala is the favourite destination of all those who want to remain in power in all situations.
The political converts, who have almost outnumbered the original PTI leaders, have no principles or ideology and most of them switch loyalties at the time of every election. The PTI chairman is accepting such characters to the party fold at a great risk, oblivious to the fact that these are the very elements he has to work against to be able to bring about the change he is promising the electorate. Nobody is reminding him the kind of role the feudal and capitalists had played to obstruct the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s agenda by becoming part of the PPP before the second election held in 1977.
Analysts are of the view that even if the PTI wins the election, the new entrants will make it difficult for Imran Khan to take decisions that go against their interests. They may set up pressure groups in the assembly, as a result of which the PTI won’t have the numerical strength required for the parliament’s approval for any policy decision.
The possibility of a change will become difficult also because of the current composition of the Senate.
As of now, the PTI has only 12 seats in the 104-member Senate. And most of the senators belong to parties opposed to Imran Khan.
Under the constitution, unless some proposal is passed by both houses of parliament it cannot become law. And for a constitutional amendment a two-thirds majority of the two houses is needed, which will be very difficult for the PTI to arrange.
This means that unless other parties join hands with the PTI, no amendment can be brought about in the Constitution – and thus no major change will be possible.
Imran Khan must keep in mind that it will not be easy for him to honour his commitments in the given situation. The turncoats around him were not loyal to the parties they worked with in the past and would have no love lost for PTI boss, their momentary cosmetic views and commitments to the contrary, notwithstanding.
Most of the loyalty changers’ new-found love for the PTI – no matter who is behind such moves – has reduced the July 25 election to a farce. If a political party has to be brought to power through such artificiality, there’s no fun in staging the election. Tens of billions of rupees of public money to be spent on the exercise should be saved and power be handed over to the PTI through an executive order. This unconstitutional way of transfer of power to a particular party or individual will better than the way the constitutional procedure is being ‘humiliated’.
A country that, because of paucity of resources, cannot run without huge foreign assistance every now and then should not waste billions on an exercise whose outcome is pretty predictable.
Also, there is no justification to waste the valuable time of the nation in electioneering and keep people in a state of fever in the foreseeable future.
If Pakistan is really a democracy, as it claims to be, then the methodology of change should be the one provided in the Constitution. People should be free to use their vote to ‘bury’ a party that failed to deliver while in power and bring to the fore that can come up to people’s expectations. There should be no room for external interference in the process.