Muhammad Usman
THERE is no two opinions that ruling elite in Pakistan have excelled in art of sophistry, venality and chicanery beyond measure to grind their own axe with impunity. They could simulate a situation with a brush of own choice. The drama of Nawaz Sharif’s life threatening illness was yet another their master performance. Of late, the leadership of PML (N) have even picked up the courage to out rightly dismiss prime facie charges of corruption against them. To the contrary, their stints in power were marked by two distinct features only; construction and corruption. Each stint surpassed the previous one in magnitude and gravity by a big margin but their captive audience continue to remain unmoved as one is found mesmerized undera spell. This speaks volume about their uncanny ability/skill to distort the facts to serve their ends and purposes.
From the day, Imran Khan assumed the office of PM, they have spared no effort to portray him an incompetent PM and have done it quite successfully. This was not a difficult proposition for them. It was a task of their left hand because it is not entirely abstract. It has an element of reality which made their mischievous act far easier. Imran Khan was not cut out be a politician but dismal plight of the country primarily pushed him into politics. He also does not possess requisite acumen and experience to run a country like Pakistan which has become nearly ungovernable however, he easily outclasses their political rivals, Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari even on the yardstick of competency alone. Their experience in office is not also of a major consequence when assessed in depth critically because they were starkly deficient of the basic ingredient of requisite competency. There was no correlation between their calibre and responsibilities they held.
The compatibility between two is a must to gain experience in a particular sphere of activity. In its absence, one would remain on first step of the ladder even he spends years there. An objective comparative review would vividly place Imran Khan ahead of both however, there is a fundamental difference between them and Imran Khan. They never had the aim to pull country out of the crisis and put it on the road to progress and prosperity. Instead they were there to satisfy their insatiable lust for power, material possessions and other social pleasures. Even extreme interest of the country utterly failed to shake their conscious. Contrarily, Imran Khan has come into power to transform the country in midst of numerous formidable challenges of all sorts. In real sense, it implies lifting the country from scratch. It amounts as to rise out of the ashes. In history, there are examples where great leaders have done this feat on the strength of their credibility and competency.
The credibility is precious and a great force multiplier. Neither one can rent a strong moral sense nor could it be acquired, being in high office. One carries it along. On the contrary, competency could be hired to compensate the deficiency in competency which a leader may have. Imran Khan is a man of optimum credibility but lags behind considerably on the scale of competency to turn around the country as he claimed to do so. It is worrisome. On one hand, he is not competent enough and on the other hand, he has made no serious effort to employ competent people or hire them to compensate for the shortfall which he definitely has. So far it is indiscernible which worries the people who want to see the country moving in right direction and making steady strides for the ultimate goal of sustainable growth and progress in the country.
On the front of political offices, he has to endure rotten eggs which his party also has in plenty like other political parties. The way-out lies in offices within ambit of bureaucracy and other public organizations. More or less, number of such offices at top level ranges to 200. The placement of dedicated and competent officials on these offices is the responsibility of Imran Khan, being chief executive of the country and unfortunately, he is a poor judge of the people. He needs to find perfect solution to this to obviate the possibility of error. It is an imperative because these are high profile positions and kind of any error or laxity in selection of people to head these positions, would set the ball rolling in wrong direction. The political people like Tareen and Qureshi be kept at distance during the process. Time and time again, they have proved their dubious credentials. After their selection, these people be trusted and given the power to hire and fire.
These people are required to select dedicated and competent people down to middle level positions, preferably from within. This is no less important. In case of their no availability within, outside sources be explored through appropriate advertisements. It would not only disseminate the impression of transparency but also impart confidence to the people about the effort being made. According to rough estimates, whole requirement of people would come to 8000. This is essential to rehabilitate the decayed/decomposed institutions/organizations and gel them. The detail of reasons for this essential exercise are omitted for paucity of space. Without this, Imran Khan may be able to outgenerals his political rivals but hope for change is certain to remain unrealized and country would continue to suffer.
— The writer, a retired Lt Col, is freelance columnist based in Islamabad.
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