Prime Minister Imran Khan’s departure is most likely due today (Saturday) after over three years and eight months of rule over the country. If he goes through a no-confidence motion, he will become yet another prime minister of Pakistan to go before his five-year tenure. If he resists, he won’t make it even for a week. Only Liaqat Ali Khan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Yousaf Raza Gillani could stay in power for four years.
Though Khan’s diehard fans believe he will retaliate. A tiger he is, who never changes his stripes, they claim. But, it seems, he won’t. After losing the majority in centre, the PTI is certain to lose Punjab as well. A no-trust motion has already been filed against the KP chief minister. In a matter of a few days, the PTI’s tsunami is likely to shatter down at its base from where it made the big wave in 2013.
Pakistan since its inception has been under the shadow of miltablishment. Many believe the mighty powers knitted the plan of his exodus very carefully, Khan’s own bloopers made the task easy.
His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is scattered and numbers of his loyalists are furious over his policies. Dozens of the PTI MNAs and MPAs have openly shown defection. The ruling party’s strength of 155 members in National Assembly has squeezed to around 140 and over 30 MPAs in Punjab have gone to Opposition’s lap.
Khan played a bad game after a no-trust motion and ultimately got a stamp from the Supreme Court over the ruling party’s unconstitutional moves, say some old loyalists of the PTI and independent analysts.
Hard to claim, however, PTI’s lost its supporters all over the country. They are intact, it seems. They say it is 1987’s World Cup for him when he lost despite having a strong and favourite team. The 1992 has yet to come, they hoped. But the fact is that he is playing against the mighty West Indies. Also, at all cricket isn’t politics.
The three years and eight months long rule of the PTI could not bring any major changes and it even disappointed his supporters. The PTI failed to introduce good governance at centre and in Punjab. It could not introduce a transparent and strong system of accountability.
The PTI failed to build the economy, it enhanced the debt trap and could not make a check on inflation and unemployment. At the start of the PTI’s tenure in 2018, some analysts advised Khan to develop a good relationship with the opposition and focus on strengthening the institutions, but he chose a clash that was ultimately ending in his defeat. His government health card and Ehsas initiatives and smart lockdown moves secured worldwide applause.
It’s true US and West don’t like him but it is equally hard to say that his right-wing populism is creating any disturbance in the West. The people of Pakistan are always ready to buy anti-US rhetoric but the reality is that it could never make a route to success in the seven decades-long history of Pakistan. Let’s see how Khan uses it in future.
