Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) kicked off its election campaign from Lahore’s Zaman Park to Data Darbar on Monday. The Party Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan led the rally and addressed party workers from inside his vehicle. The PTI Chairman vowed that he was not striving for his personal sake but for the people. He alleged that the big criminals in power were attempting to run away from the elections and registering cases against him and PTI officeholders to disqualify them from elections. Imran repeated his accusations against the Police and the caretaker government regarding the alleged killing and torture of PTI worker Zill-e-Shah at the March 8 rally that was blocked by the Police. According to Khan, a gang of thieves has been imposed on the country, and the nation would have to come out for real independence and accountability of the gangsters.
The Pakistanis are a lucky nation, which has an abundance of pro-public leaders who are all time ready to serve their country rather many of them including military generals, civil bureaucrats, and feudal cum politicians bulldozed the country’s constitution and sabotage democracy in the name of public service, later those self throned champions enjoyed authoritarian rule for decades in the past. Earlier, the PTI Chairman got a magnificent mandate for his imaginative anti-corruption dogma, a quest for the rule of law, merit, and transparency, but the so-called nation reformer not only failed to implement his ambitious manifesto but a majority of social ailments including misuse of authority, nepotism, institutional corruption, blackmailing and settlement of personal revenge in name of accountability became the order of the day during the three and a half year rule of Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The PTI Chairman is currently facing the same charges of corruption, misuse of authority, trading of precious state gifts, and misleading the Country’s electoral watchdog as those he is persistently leveling against his opponents. Yet, the self-claimed nation’s rescuer portrays legal issues as biased and politically motivated cases and is on a run-off from courts to avoid his conviction.
Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf remained in a neck-to-neck fight with the ruling coalition government and was still reluctant to negotiate the electoral reforms and the conditions for general polls in Punjab and KP when the dates had been announced for the elections. In fact, our political leaders must demonstrate seriousness and political wisdom if they have a genuine interest in public well-being, national survival along with political and economic stability in the country. This is high time for an inter-party dialogue and national consensus regarding future electoral reforms so the upcoming general election could be made transparent, and equally acceptable for all political stakeholders. So, the nation moves toward a peaceful transition of power instead of bracing for another phase of chaotic politics and a blame game in the aftermath of forthcoming elections.
Realistically, the country’s politics has been badly spoiled by rigid political behavior, hate, and imperious sentiments that reduced space for constructive dialogue and positive engagement between the parties. The nation is not obliged to any leader and no party is essential for the survival of the nation. Therefore, leaders must not attempt to harass the judiciary and other state institutions in the garb of popularity and social media rating. Apparently, the government and opposition both have no sympathy for the public and pursue their political agendas selfishly. After all. the public must take up a regulatory role by rejecting rigid politics, regretting the abuse of public mandate, and berating disrespect of public institutions, so Pakistani leaders behave responsibly and remain mindful of public approval in the future.
