On the stump, Imran Khan made a string of grand election promises. Some made headlines, some did not. Regardless, on July 25, his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), swept to power, which means that the majority of registered voters have faith in him to deliver. But translating policy into coherent action is never easy.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s tenure is remembered fondly. He rose to power on the back of a smart slogan, “roti, kapra, makaan” (bread, clothes and house). Then, he failed to deliver. The dream of roti, kapra and makaan for all was never realized. Even after Bhutto’s term was cut short, the successive governments since then haven’t had much luck in providing these basics.
Now that Khan is firmly in the saddle, he has promised the same. In his first address to the nation as prime minister, he wore a simple white tunic and pants. Leaning towards the camera, he pledged five million low-cost houses, ten million jobs, austerity at all government levels, and higher tax collection.
No fleet of vehicles will trail behind him, he said. “I will use two servants and two vehicles for security only,” he added. But then a few days in office and we heard that he was being whisked around in a helicopter. Videos circulated on the social media showed a main thoroughfare blocked off to traffic for Khan’s travel to his family home in Lahore.
And he isn’t the only one. His alliance partner, now a federal minister, Sheikh Rasheed, who was seen campaigning on a motorcycle during election days, now wants to see the two-wheelers off the roads. Another example is PTI’s Usman Buzdar, the new chief minister of Punjab, whose rise to the top, we were told, was due to the backward state of his constituency and the fact that he did not have electricity in his own home. But these days we often see him and his family travelling in style, on board a private aircraft.
How things change.
Austerity aside, Khan also promised ten million jobs. Over half of Pakistan’s 207 million population is the youth. According to the Economic Survey 2016-2017, the unemployment rate stood at six per cent in rural areas and eight per cent in urban areas. Experts dispute the government figures and put them much beyond the number computed. So how will Khan do it?
The prime minister says his government is working on enacting a law for whistleblowers on corruption. Whoever helps identify corruption will get a share – around 20 per cent – of the money recovered. So, if a person helps identify Rs50 million and gets a percentage of that, he/she can then buy a house. Simple. Promise fulfilled.
We are already on our way to ten million jobs and five million houses. There is no need then to get into the technicalities such as: What happens if a whistleblower is caught lying? How will the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) verify the influx of claims?
The Bureau, as Khan may know already, has a history of political harassment on the basis of unfounded charges. It also tends to confuse its role with that of the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) that is tasked to determine sources of income.
At the end of the day, all that matters are that promises are kept and not broken. How they are kept, is a debate for another day.
Ansari is bureau chief of Geo News in Lahore
Note: The views expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Geo News or the Jang Group.