Malik M. Ashraf<\/p>\n
The role of the political leaders whether in the government or the opposition is to unite the na\u00adtion and make sincere efforts to pro\u00admote the well-being of the people, strengthen the state edifice, and refrain from doing any\u00adthing that hurts the state in\u00adterests, irrespective of their different views and strategies regarding how to do justice with their mandated and oblig\u00adatory responsibilities. The foregoing constitutes a touchstone for fathoming their patriotic credentials.
\nPakistan unfortunately has not been so lucky in this regard. It has not found any politician who fits the criteria of a genuine political leader. Most of them have focused on their own narrow po\u00adlitical agendas and serving their vest\u00aded interests. However, Imran Khan has exceeded all of them in using all kinds of machinations to have his way. He did this to the extent of committing anti-state acts and dividing the nation be\u00adsides introducing a culture of violence and impudence in Pakistani politics.
\nAn anti-state act is defined as a stance or action by someone that is character\u00adized by or expresses opposition or hos\u00adtility towards the state.
\nThe letter written to IMF under the signatures of Raoof Hasan Informa\u00adtion Secretary of PTI with the approv\u00adal of Imran Khan asking it not to en\u00adgage with the new government for any future bail-out package is a clas\u00adsic example of an anti-state stance of PTI. It was contended in the letter that the government was not a true repre\u00adsentative of the people because it had come into being as a result of unprec\u00adedented fraud in the compilation of election results. It was also reiterat\u00aded in the letter that the IMF must ful\u00adfill its guidelines regarding good gov\u00adernance in the country asking for the financial facility and must ensure au\u00addit of at least 30% of the national and provincial seats before the grant of fi\u00adnance facility that is to burden the people of Pakistan. It demanded au\u00addit through indigenous organizations namely Free and Fair Election Net\u00adwork (FAFEN) and PATTAN-Coalition 38 to the satisfaction of all stakehold\u00aders. The letter concluded that such a role by the IMF would be a great ser\u00advice to Pakistan and its people and could become the harbinger of endur\u00ading prosperity, growth, and macroeco\u00adnomic stability in the country.
\nAs is evident, through this letter Im\u00adran Khan sought the intervention of an international agency in the political affairs of the country even though in\u00adstitutional and legal forums are avail\u00adable within the country to have any complaints against irregularities or al\u00adleged fraud in the elections probed. It is simply an unacceptable indiscretion by PTI. Since it had urged the IMF not to extend further financial assistance to Pakistan it constituted an anti-state act. The loan is not to be given to any political party but to the state of Pak\u00adistan which at the moment needs to stem the rot in its economy.
\nIt may be recalled that the PTI chief minister in KPK Taimur Jhagra had also written a similar letter to the IMF in August 2022 just three days before the IMF executive board was to discuss the provision of credit to Pakistan in which the agency was in\u00adformed that the province would not be able to meet the agreed upon budget surplus. It was clearly a move to sabo\u00adtage that agreement.
\nIt is however heartening to note that the IMF has given a could-shoulder re\u00adsponse to PTI\u2019s letter regarding audit of elections and said\u201d The IMF as an in\u00adternational institution with a narrow mandate of economic issues does not comment on domestic political devel\u00adopments. It looks forward to engaging with Pakistan to complete the second review under the ongoing Stand by Ar\u00adrangement and support the develop\u00adment of a new medium-term econom\u00adic program if the government requests it.\u201d The IMF has rightly snubbed PTI and its chairman who pursues such an\u00adtics unscrupulously.
\nThe party unfortunately has a track record of committing anti-state acts, maligning state institutions, and seek\u00ading foreign intervention in the inter\u00adnal affairs of the country. In the back\u00addrop of the 9th May incidents when the state was making arrests of all those involved in them, the PTI un\u00adleashed a sustained campaign to propagate about alleged abuse of hu\u00adman rights and sought foreign inter\u00advention to stop it.
\nImran had been involved in discus\u00adsions with several representatives of California including Ted Lieu, Eric Swalwell, Brad Sherman, and Mike Lev\u00aden. Representative Sherman composed a letter to US Secretary of State Anto\u00adny Blinken in which he expressed ap\u00adprehensions regarding infringement upon human rights, and the rule of law in Pakistan.
\nReportedly PTI\u2019s US chapter cam\u00adpaigned for linking Washington\u2019s mil\u00aditary aid to Pakistan to the human rights situation. It lobbied with US congressman Greg Casar who pledged with them that he was co-sponsoring a bill linking military aid to human rights conditions in the country.
\nIt is pertinent to point out that a cam\u00adpaign by the Pakistani-American Po\u00adlitical Action Committee (PAKPAC) also led to more US Congressmen ap\u00adproaching US Secretary Antony Blink\u00aden to pressurize Pakistan government to improve human rights situation in the country. A rally organized by PTI outside the White House also appealed to President Biden to refrain from en\u00adgaging with Pakistan. These are irrefut\u00adable realities to highlight anti-state ac\u00adtivities of the party.
\nThe party also has devious creden\u00adtials in regards to achieving its polit\u00adical agenda. The most recent exam\u00adple is the bombshell which the party dropped by extracting a statement from ex-commissioner Rawalpindi re\u00adgarding rigging done in the Rawalpindi Division endorsing PTI\u2019s claim in this regard. The scam did not last long as the commissioner retracted from his earlier statement and unraveled the facts about the episode. He said that he had done it at the behest of a PTI lead\u00ader with whom he had developed rela\u00adtions who told him that he would be given a very lucrative assignment after his retirement and the plan had the ap\u00adproval of the senior leadership of the party. It really stinks.
\nImran Khan undoubtedly has con\u00adsiderable following in the country though for all the wrong reasons as has been proven during the 2024 gen\u00aderal elections. His party has been able to make dent in the domain of oth\u00ader major political parties. It is, there\u00adfore, advisable for the party to accept the split mandate given by the people and contribute its bit in strengthen\u00ading democracy and state institutions to winch the country out of the quag\u00admire it is stuck into. If it has any griev\u00adances regarding rigging in the elec\u00adtions it should approach the proper forums responsible for addressing the issue instead of seeking intervention of the foreign countries and interna\u00adtional agencies in the internal affairs of the country.
\nAs far the cases against Imran Khan and his conviction in three of them the party must have faith in the judi\u00adciary like the PML (N) and PPP lead\u00aders who were incarcerated during PTI rule and finally acquitted having been found innocent.<\/p>\n
The writer is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at ashpak10@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Malik M. Ashraf The role of the political leaders whether in the government or the opposition is to unite the na\u00adtion and make sincere efforts to pro\u00admote the well-being of the people, strengthen the state edifice, and refrain from doing any\u00adthing that hurts the state in\u00adterests, irrespective of their different views and strategies regarding how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3489],"class_list":{"0":"post-394076","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-article","7":"tag-malik-m-ashraf"},"yoast_head":"\n