Put an end to U-Turns and play with a straight bat Khan Sahib

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan needs to give up the habit of taking U-Turns on every political decision he takes and statement he releases. This attitude and mannerisms have largely affected his credibility as a leader of the largest political party and his followers particularly political workers are dismayed and disappointed.

In every political talk show on television networks, your person is criticised for hoodwinking people at the grass-root level. The latest example is your statement on Friday offering negotiation to the ruling 13-party alliance to sort out political differences including the demand of holding early general elections ahead of their schedule of August 2023.

It was shocking to know that once again you have gone back on your words and said that you would dissolve the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab Assemblies and would go for elections in the above-stated two provinces. Clarifying your U-Turn you said: “My previous statement was just meant to emphasize the gravity of the situation”.

The PTI chief further expressed his hope that the new military leadership would have immediately disassociated itself from the eight months of the previous army chief’s action against the PTI. Khan Sahib wasn’t it you who have been praising former Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa for being a democracy-lover and that your government would have failed had the then military establishment not supported you during all difficult situations”?

It was you who told the nation at least a dozen times that the intelligence agencies helped out your government when it was stuck to passing the federal budgets, electing the Chairman of the Senate and for legislation purposes. Didn’t you say Gen Bajwa helped you in managing funding from friendly states and formulating, what you termed as independent foreign policy? Khan Sahib you made the nation believe that the military establishment has stood firmly behind your party manifesto.

There are dozens of such assertions that you made till the vote of no-confidence was moved against you. Realising fully that the move would succeed, you rushed to the former army chief and begged him to help you out. But it was too late because keeping in view the bad governance of your three-and-a-half years rule, the Establishment had decided to be apolitical.

This infuriated you and you started calling names to the military leadership except for a few who were hand-n-glove with you. Those of your friends played havoc with the situation by misguiding and misleading you and thus sealed the fate of your party’s rule in the Federation. It was you Khan Sahib who called them traitors, neutrals, Mir Jaffer and Mir Sadiq. Such titles are not acceptable by any military man of any rank.

It was not your fault but of those around you who presented you larger than a live image of yourself and unfortunately, you started believing them. It was about the time that you should have realised this vicious circle was playing games. You should have heeded voices like Faisal Vawda, Justice Wajihuddin Ahmad, Tasneem Noorani, Hamid Khan and many other such party loyalists. Why were you not listening to their sane advice?

Your blue-eyed boys at the party included very ambitious persons aspiring for the slot of Prime Minister as well as the PTI’s chairmanship if something goes wrong with you. It is not the right time to take their names and one would expect that you have the political wisdom to pinpoint them. Be aware of such elements.

At the same time, Khan Sahib that the fastest you reduce the number of you and your party spokespersons, the better it is. Here again one would avoid their names. Each one of them opens his mouth and gets away with saying unguarded things on your behalf. Often you had to explain and clarify their misstatements.

The one you said you would not employ as a peon remained your chief spokesperson for well over three years. He used to claim he was a bridge between you and the GHQ. But within your party, people thought he was spying on you for his masters. No wonder (they) were always aware of your moves ahead of time. There is no harm in learning lessons now to be careful in future. One can mention a whole lot of people who betrayed you within your fold.

Khan Sahib, the time is running fast and you need to take wiser political decisions. You and your party have a future only if you make yourself part of the system. By trying to destroy the system, you will end up nowhere. Stop people like Shahbaz Gill, Mirza Shahzad Akbar and Azam Swati from making foul statements against top military generals and heads of intelligence agencies. Their statements and accusations are being blown out of proportion by the Indian media and the Zionist state of Isreal. These two enemies of Pakistan wish to destroy our defending army which is also the custodian of the country’s nuclear arsenals.

As a leader of the largest party and the former prime minister, you need to ponder upon the prevailing political and security situations. Let the sane voices speak and heed their suggestions. It is the right time to demonstrate your political sagacity before it is too late. Give up U-Turns and play with the straight bat that would end up adding largely to your popularity and would certainly enable you to take correct decisions.