The speed with which Imran Khan
hovered over the political horizon of the country after his Minar-I-Pakistan
rally and has established his party as one of the major stakeholders in national
politics, almost with the same or even more speed the problems and hurdles
started coming in his way putting the ‘cricket king’ in real test as this time
he is confronted with a different ballgame.
As expected, after the success of his Lahore rally, which has baffled all and
sundry, there is rush of both genuine and power hungry people ready to board the
bandwagon of Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf, which they consider would surely land
them in power.
On the other hand tired with the marathon struggle, stretched over almost one
and a half decade, Imran Khan is desperate to cash on this opportunity as
millions of people are rallying round, but in the process he has completely
forgotten that the people, especially youth, are pinning great hope, a hope of
establishment of such a society based on socio-political and economic justice
which would turn their woes into happiness.
Imran Khan is living with an illusion that his party is not having elect-able
candidates and to fill this gap he is inducting people with bad reputation and
opportunists who move with the changing winds and would turn into a bad baggage
for him instead of giving him and his party some benefit.
These new entrants in the party commonly dubbed as ‘paratroopers’ because of
their tricks and cleverness were slicing good bargain with Imran Khan, still
naïve to the dynamics of the national politics, pushing back the ideological
workers of the party who stood the test of the time and some of them had even
left the party in desperation and dejection.
A party leader who is not happy over the decision of Imran Khan to take into
party fold corrupt and tainted politicians in the name of elect-able said that
with the induction of Sardar Ghulam Abbass, a PPP leader from Chakwal who had
served as District Nazim under the wings of Gen. Pervez Musharraf, would not go
well with the ideological party workers who stood by Imran Khan in the thick and
thin for past well over 15 years. Now Sardar Ghulam Abbass is almost all in all
vis-à-vis the electoral arrangements in District Chakwal is concerned.
The decision of replacing Umar Chima with Shafqat Mahmood as Central Secretary
Information of the party has also not gone well with the ideological party
workers and they questioned that may be as professional Shafqat Mahmood could
tackle media better than Umar Chima but where the loyalty and commitment of Umar
Chima with party stand.
The same is the case with Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who no doubt is having
a very strong clout in southern Punjab and in some part of Sindh, but this did
not mean that he should be given free hand in dealing with some 25 National
Assembly constituencies covering southern Punjab and parts of Sindh and the
party workers are rightly pointing out that where the genuine party workers and
leaders from the area stand who stayed with the party in difficult times.
The induction of political bigwigs from other parties in Pakistan
Tehreek-I-Insaf is a healthy sign showing the growing popularity of the people
in its manifesto and policies, and above all the truth and sincerity depicting
from each and every word Imran Khan utters, but the joining of people with
tainted reputation in the party would also casting bad aspersion on the party,
especially when they were given preference on the genuine party workers and
leaders.
A senior party leader admitted the unrest and anxiety exist in the party’s ranks
and files and said that they were actually not prepared for it as after the
success of Lahore rally there was a flood of people including big names who have
defected from mainstream political parties and joined them, but made it clear
that things would normalize soon as a scrutiny committee under the headed by
Justice(retd) Wajiuddin Ahmad was in place to shift right from wrong.
He further informed that they were working out a plan under which in urban
centers they would give 70 per cent tickets to party workers and leaders who
stood by the party in difficult times while only 30 per cent tickets would be
given to the new entrants and that too on merit as no one with tainted character
would be given party ticket.
However, the dynamics of politics in rural areas is quite different and they
would go for elect-able candidates, as the politics in rural set-up would
normally be cast and clan driven.
Further elaborating his point, he informed that in urban centers some 50 per
cent tickets would be given to old party loyalists while 20 per cent tickets
would be doled-out to the youth belonging to Insaf Student Federation and only
30 per cent tickets would be dished out to the new entrants.
But the ground reality speaks otherwise as right now the ‘paratroopers’ are seen
in complete command of the situation and imperiling the fate and future of the
party, which mainly hinges on the support of ‘emotional youth’ which has pinned
great expectations with Imran Khan. So in case of their disappointment the youth
would drift away from him with the same speed and pace with which they have
rallied round him in Lahore rally and turned it into a tsunami. PTI tsunami
would wipe away the “big crocodiles” but peoples are asking a valid question
about the crocodiles, boarding in the vessel of PTI.
The quote by some unknown depict well the present situation confronting PTI and
its Chairman. “Life is like a party. You invite a lot of people; some go, some
join you, some laugh with you, some didn’t come. But in the end, after the fun,
there would be a few who would clean up the mess with you. And most of the time,
those were the uninvited or tested ones.” Soon the candidates will be in place
and people would have an opportunity to choose and vote.