The writer is a freelance columnist
Back in 2018, I had written that the status quo elite capturing mafia of kleptocrats and plutocrats headed by the Houses of Sharifs and Bhuttos/ Zardari will fight tooth and nail to destroy every attempt to reform Pakistan, with Imran being the most visible symbol of that change.
Three years down, one can see how strong, and powerful this mafia still is.
A mafia that is a combination of corrupt politicians, bureaucracy, judiciary, law-enforcement agencies and special interest groups in business in a rentier environment and a powerful military not used to playing second fiddle.
One can argue (in many cases, strongly) that Imran overpromised the “Dream” driven by his inexperience and limited insights about the rot that had infected this moth-eaten edifice called Pakistan, before taking over the reins of governance.
This is, by no means, a justification but a fact.
One can also argue that his inexperience, gullibility and personal failings certainly added to this huge challenge of reform!
But, and I will say this, it goes for people like me as well, that all our judgements and opinions on what’s actually transpiring are based on our extremely limited insights about the real challenges that exist. They are largely fed by some highly partisan members in the media fraternity that deliberately misrepresents and distorts half-truths that are cunningly presented to us, the gullible population, as truth. This is what we lap up to feed our frenzy and reinforce our pre-existing opinions and judgements.
It’s a natural tendency to first commit our minds to an opinion or a perspective, based on highly superficial and incorrect inputs, and then filter everything we read, hear etc through that prism.
Here’s the reality as I see it.
IK has been the Prime Minister for three years and continuously battling and trying to fix the rot.
But also let’s be clear.
IK is not responsible for our economic mess, the price inflation, the terrible state of our institutions, the destruction, rape, loot and plunder and corruption of every single public sector institution of Pakistan.
Yes, he is responsible to now make all efforts to fix it.
He is not responsible for the sectarian hatred and the brainwashing of our youth in becoming zombie-like right-wing religious zealots.
But he is responsible for changing this hatred into love or at least tolerance.
He’s not responsible for the Plutocrats and Kleptocrats like Nawaz Sharif, Benazir, Zardari, who looted and plundered this land and those military rulers who foisted them on us.
But he is responsible to bring them to justice.
He is not responsible for 33 years of military rule, which stunted the growth of civilian public sector institutions, created a massively powerful military overextending its role. But he is responsible to restore this balance.
He’s not responsible for having to work with the material that resides in the gutters of Pakistani politics because that is all the current system throws up.
But he is responsible to change the electoral system to allow people of much better quality to come into the corridors of power, authority and influence.
He’s not responsible for the wholesale destruction and corruption and incompetence and politicising of all our public-sector agencies, the bureaucracy, the law enforcement agencies, the lower and superior judiciaries and the military.
But he is responsible to reform them.
He’s not responsible for our rich not paying taxes. For the rentier mindset, for the elite capture.
But he is responsible to change this mindset.
He’s not responsible for selling our national interests to the US and Pakistan landing in the crosshairs of a global battle with China.
But he is responsible to safeguard our national interests.
Yes, dear countrymen and countrywomen, you can hold him responsible for his inexperience of governance, his lack of insights in selecting people and making questionable selections, but these are minor pinpricks compared to the daylight rape, loot, pillage and plunder that this country has been subjected to by the Sharifs, Bhuttos, Zardaris, the so-called religious leaders like Fazlur Rehman and 5th columnists.
So do give him credit that despite his inadequacies, his prior inexperience, his challenges and largely having to chose people from the same putrid gutter of political garbage, he’s trying to change the system.
Look at what he’s up against.
A devastated economy that is causing massive inflation.
A corrupt dysfunctional incompetent governance and judicial infrastructure.
A corrupt society with interests tied to corrupt politicians laden with their loot and plunder who will fight to the death to preserve the status quo!
A military chomping at the bits!
Societies and nations transform once there is a critical mass of the right people in the right places with the right processes to drive the change.
Simple organisations take a minimum of three years for the change to manifest and five for it to become the new norm.
Timelines for transforming societies?
Pick a number above 10 years, at least, if the forces against it are defeated or weak, not as strong as they are in Pakistan and many within his party as well.
We sit outside the arena, fed daily on this diet of political garbage and nonsense for what goes as current affairs hosted by a bunch of over-dramatised TV anchors, self-styled political analysts and politicians, many of whom act with utter shamelessness in their actions and professional deeds.
Can there be a more sickening example of the rot in our society than that of a political leader’s amorous antics splashed across the entire country in full colour and a leader of an opposition party shamelessly retaining him as her spokesperson?
And the silence of our media!
We have completely lost sight of what’s good and bad.
We are unable to distinguish good from evil, so corrupted are our moral templates.
Imran may not be a saint or a magician, but, in my opinion, he’s trying his damned best to save this country from itself.
And he is still our best fighting chance.
Otherwise, folks, it’s back to another round of military or quasi-military rule or the stench of what other politicians stand for.
If that happens, say goodbye!
Allah Will Not Change the Condition of a Society, Unless it Chooses to Do so Itself!
https://dailytimes.com.pk/830678/imran-and-the-elite-capture-status-quo/
Imran and the Elite Capture Status Quo: op-ed by Haider Mehdi in Daily Times, Oct 18th, 2021
The writer is a freelance columnist
Back in 2018, I had written that the status quo elite capturing mafia of kleptocrats and plutocrats headed by the Houses of Sharifs and Bhuttos/ Zardari will fight tooth and nail to destroy every attempt to reform Pakistan, with Imran being the most visible symbol of that change.
Three years down, one can see how strong, and powerful this mafia still is.
A mafia that is a combination of corrupt politicians, bureaucracy, judiciary, law-enforcement agencies and special interest groups in business in a rentier environment and a powerful military not used to playing second fiddle.
One can argue (in many cases, strongly) that Imran overpromised the “Dream” driven by his inexperience and limited insights about the rot that had infected this moth-eaten edifice called Pakistan, before taking over the reins of governance.
This is, by no means, a justification but a fact.
One can also argue that his inexperience, gullibility and personal failings certainly added to this huge challenge of reform!
But, and I will say this, it goes for people like me as well, that all our judgements and opinions on what’s actually transpiring are based on our extremely limited insights about the real challenges that exist. They are largely fed by some highly partisan members in the media fraternity that deliberately misrepresents and distorts half-truths that are cunningly presented to us, the gullible population, as truth. This is what we lap up to feed our frenzy and reinforce our pre-existing opinions and judgements.
It’s a natural tendency to first commit our minds to an opinion or a perspective, based on highly superficial and incorrect inputs, and then filter everything we read, hear etc through that prism.
Here’s the reality as I see it.
IK has been the Prime Minister for three years and continuously battling and trying to fix the rot.
But also let’s be clear.
IK is not responsible for our economic mess, the price inflation, the terrible state of our institutions, the destruction, rape, loot and plunder and corruption of every single public sector institution of Pakistan.
Yes, he is responsible to now make all efforts to fix it.
He is not responsible for the sectarian hatred and the brainwashing of our youth in becoming zombie-like right-wing religious zealots.
But he is responsible for changing this hatred into love or at least tolerance.
He’s not responsible for the Plutocrats and Kleptocrats like Nawaz Sharif, Benazir, Zardari, who looted and plundered this land and those military rulers who foisted them on us.
But he is responsible to bring them to justice.
He is not responsible for 33 years of military rule, which stunted the growth of civilian public sector institutions, created a massively powerful military overextending its role. But he is responsible to restore this balance.
He’s not responsible for having to work with the material that resides in the gutters of Pakistani politics because that is all the current system throws up.
But he is responsible to change the electoral system to allow people of much better quality to come into the corridors of power, authority and influence.
He’s not responsible for the wholesale destruction and corruption and incompetence and politicising of all our public-sector agencies, the bureaucracy, the law enforcement agencies, the lower and superior judiciaries and the military.
But he is responsible to reform them.
He’s not responsible for our rich not paying taxes. For the rentier mindset, for the elite capture.
But he is responsible to change this mindset.
He’s not responsible for selling our national interests to the US and Pakistan landing in the crosshairs of a global battle with China.
But he is responsible to safeguard our national interests.
Yes, dear countrymen and countrywomen, you can hold him responsible for his inexperience of governance, his lack of insights in selecting people and making questionable selections, but these are minor pinpricks compared to the daylight rape, loot, pillage and plunder that this country has been subjected to by the Sharifs, Bhuttos, Zardaris, the so-called religious leaders like Fazlur Rehman and 5th columnists.
So do give him credit that despite his inadequacies, his prior inexperience, his challenges and largely having to chose people from the same putrid gutter of political garbage, he’s trying to change the system.
Look at what he’s up against.
A devastated economy that is causing massive inflation.
A corrupt dysfunctional incompetent governance and judicial infrastructure.
A corrupt society with interests tied to corrupt politicians laden with their loot and plunder who will fight to the death to preserve the status quo!
A military chomping at the bits!
Societies and nations transform once there is a critical mass of the right people in the right places with the right processes to drive the change.
Simple organisations take a minimum of three years for the change to manifest and five for it to become the new norm.
Timelines for transforming societies?
Pick a number above 10 years, at least, if the forces against it are defeated or weak, not as strong as they are in Pakistan and many within his party as well.
We sit outside the arena, fed daily on this diet of political garbage and nonsense for what goes as current affairs hosted by a bunch of over-dramatised TV anchors, self-styled political analysts and politicians, many of whom act with utter shamelessness in their actions and professional deeds.
Can there be a more sickening example of the rot in our society than that of a political leader’s amorous antics splashed across the entire country in full colour and a leader of an opposition party shamelessly retaining him as her spokesperson?
And the silence of our media!
We have completely lost sight of what’s good and bad.
We are unable to distinguish good from evil, so corrupted are our moral templates.
Imran may not be a saint or a magician, but, in my opinion, he’s trying his damned best to save this country from itself.
And he is still our best fighting chance.
Otherwise, folks, it’s back to another round of military or quasi-military rule or the stench of what other politicians stand for.
If that happens, say goodbye!
Allah Will Not Change the Condition of a Society, Unless it Chooses to Do so Itself!
https://dailytimes.com.pk/830678/imran-and-the-elite-capture-status-quo/
Published in Pak Media comment and Pakistan