PRIME Minister Imran Khan, in his comparatively long speech on Tuesday in the National Assembly, where he seldom speaks, spoke comprehensively on a number of issues but to sum up it was a frontal attack on the opposition in the backdrop of rumours about a possible change. Oozing with confidence, he declared in categorical terms that even if he got out of the office under the ‘minus one’ formula, those in the government would not let the corrupt opposition leaders off the hook. Imran said they desired to see “minus one” in the government. Imran made it clear to his political opponents that nobody could dare topple the government or his party as long as they would follow their ideology.
As pointed out by the Prime Minister, there were rumours about something to happen during passage of the budget as even coalition partners were sending wrong signals but Imran Khan and his team craftily managed the crisis and got the budget passed. The budget has been adopted but rumour-mongering has not ended and remarks of the Prime Minister about so-called ‘minus one’ formula would lend them more credibility. There is no doubt that Imran Khan is sincere about taking measures to pull the country out of a myriad of problems and in this regard he initiated a number of steps but unfortunately so far their results are not visible. This is mainly because people without ideology have gathered around him and they enjoy influence more than core and committed members of PTI. How can we break away from status quo when claims about reforming institutions have not materialized and scores of organizations and departments are either without a regular head or they are run by incompetent people. Launching of programmes and policies is one thing and their implementation is something different and the government is lagging on this front mainly because of inefficiency of ministries and departments. It was because of the focus of the speech of the Prime Minister that there was an impression that it was more of a speech of the opposition leader than the leader of the house. If the opposition is making moves, overtly or covertly, to bring about a change in government, it is its constitutional right but ruling parties, in democracies, are supposed to calm down crises and make goodwill gestures. By and large, the opposition has been cooperative during the last two years but some members of the treasury benches have been instrumental in spoiling atmosphere for a working relationship.
Irrespective of whether or not allegations about corruption are correct or credible, the fact remains the country is facing numerous challenges on internal and external fronts and a solo flight would not help. National reconciliation is the only answer but this doesn’t mean any NRO for anyone. However, the tendency of some ministers and members of the ruling party to speak about impending moves of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) convey an impression of some collusion and concerns about this should be taken care of by ensuring that there is no semblance of any interference in the accountability process. The opposition too should review its strategy and allow the government to complete its five-year mandated term. It was also noteworthy that the Prime Minister, in his wide-ranging address, spoke on a number of issues and points but skipped some of the real issues that matter much to the people. Why he skipped mentioning the strange move of his government to jack up prices of petroleum products unjustifiably? In view of its grave implications, this has become number one concern of the people as prices of all items and services have gone up as a consequent of this unwise step. If Lahore High Court can suggest to the Speaker National Assembly to form a parliamentary committee to probe shortage of petrol, why the Government can’t do so on its own including the issue of unrealistic increase in prices of POL products in the backdrop of reports that this was done to benefit oil mafia. Similarly, despite repeated assurances and warnings to relevant officials and vested interests, the price of wheat flour has not come down; rather it is going up with the passage of time and without any justification. The problems of the Government would persist if it fails to improve its performance on implementation front as mere probes and publication of reports practically mean nothing for the layman.
