AS the Opposition is increasing pressure on the Government as part of its strategy to bring about a change, Prime Minister Imran Khan has demonstrated his firm commitment to do principle-based politics by declaring that he would not come under any pressure and all options including fresh elections have to be kept in mind.
Chairing a meeting of the Core Committee of PTI in Islamabad on Thursday, he said his party enjoyed support of the people and would not run from the field.
The declaration of the Prime Minister is an indication that he was fully confident to win elections, if held prematurely, and this is in line with outcome of some opinion polls conducted published in the recent past.
PTI is, of course, one of the three major political parties of the country and got a mandate from the people in the last general election on the slogan of change.
Political analysts point out that masses expected revolutionary changes based on announcements of the PTI leadership and the party’s election manifesto and there is a degree of disappointment over lack of a visible change but they argue a solid foundation has been laid for bringing fundamental changes in the system.
The incumbent Government has taken highly unpopular decisions just to ensure that the country stands on its own feet on a long- term basis.
As the Government has launched numerous initiatives for the purpose, the Prime Minister is justifiably confident about securing a fresh mandate of the people in case of fresh elections.
His remarks might also be a warning for his cabinet colleagues and party leaders to show results or face the electorate.
Whatever the reason, this is, perhaps, for the first time that the Prime Minister has hinted at the possibility of fresh elections and this might be interpreted differently by different circles.
Whether fresh elections are held in the near future or two years later, the Government has not much time to ensure that there is a trickle-down effect of its policies.
This is because so far people have experienced price-hike, shortage of commodities, unemployment, lay-offs, more corruption in public dealing organizations, lack of good governance, lack of faith in police and judicial system and distraction from developmental activities.
All this leads to frustration of the people, which was reflected in the recently held by-elections as the ruling party could not gain despite being in power for almost three years.
We have been emphasizing in these columns that the Government can improve its overall perception significantly provided there is focus on good governance, which doesn’t necessarily mean any worthwhile monetary investment.
A case in point is the PM’s portal enabling people to seek redressal of their grievances that has resolved problems of thousands of people in a simple and inexpensive manner.
Similar ideas and initiatives are needed in every sector and hierarchy of the Government to improve delivery as per expectations of the people.
The Core Committee might have its own reasons to decide about large-scale bureaucratic reshuffle in Punjab, where, according to general perception, the ruling party has not done well but it would make no sense to change faces if a right person is not posted against the right job.
Performance of institutions and departments has badly been affected because of the inability of the Government to appoint their regular heads.
Why could the Government not do so despite passage of three years? Select competent officers to head various institutions, give them targets and monitor their performance on a regular basis.
Reforms in police and judiciary are also overdue and the promised exercise should be undertaken without loss of further time as this is deeply linked to the level of satisfaction of the people with the overall governance.
Local Governments throughout the world are contributing hugely to the cherished objective of resolving problems of the people at their doorsteps and harmonizing developmental activities to aspirations of the local population.
However, like previous Governments, the incumbent one too seems to be not much interested in holding local elections, may be because of political fallout.
Such apprehensions can be addressed by holding local elections on a non-party basis.
As for reports that the Government has decided not to block the Long March of the Opposition, these are welcome as this would help avoid any confrontation, leaving room for talks to sort out issues if the two sides so decide.
