Why has Imran Khan and the PTI failed to deliver?

[Savak]

- Was it because of too much idealism by the leader IK in his pre-election, campaign rhetoric which was completely out of sync with the ground realities of the country and how the country needed to actually be governed? End result he has badly alienated his supporters, the educated, middle class who expected him to swiftly end all their problems with a magic wand?

- Was it because in the effort to gain power, he had to bring in electables from other parties but that has resulted in the party being filled with yes men, opportunists, badniyat individuals who are actually working behind the PTI leaders back?

- Was it because of the leader IK just having badniyat intentions from the very start?

- Was it because the leader IK completely underestimated the power of the opposition who have had massive tentacles in the state and its institutions i.e. the police, judiciary, SBP, FBR, bureacracy and federal, provincial ministries and he in term blindly, immaturely thought that all these institutions would be easily fixable?

- Was it because the leader IK squandered a golden opportunity to go after the opposition brutally like a dictator and naively expected the state institutions to efficiently and justly hold them accountable in a speedy and just manner?

- Was it because he did not correctly prioritize the issues he needed to address expediently and made the mistake of focusing too much on issues, policies that will not really switch the electoral results in his favour?

- Overconfidence and arrogance that the army will continue to indefinately back him and that he did not really need to deliver quick, fast, urgent results to switch the electorate votes in his favour?

- Just overall incompetency i.e. he tried his best but governing Pakistan was totally beyond his capabilities.

I personally think it is a combination of the above. Even IK diehard supporters are now resigned to acknowledge that no matter whatever problems or challenges IK and the PTI had to face and encounter during the tenure, the bottom line is that they were the party in charge in the federal government, the buck stops at the bottom line which is they did not deliver at all and they have left Pakistan in a ten times worse state then when they took charge and if the common person on the street is ten times worse off vs when they took charge then there is no point of them governing the country.

The biggest tragedy about this whole saga and experience is that i seriously doubt the educated class, middle class, youth, overseas Pakistani's will ever participate in Pakistani elections ever again and will ever have faith in any new face. In fact it is now very much possible where the traditionally strong political parties like PML N, PPP e.t.c will now reference the PTI experience and propagate "Corrupt but Competent" is always the right, best choice for the nation vs "Non-Corrupt but incompetent". An untried person, a new person cannot be trusted to govern Pakistan as everyone has seen and experienced with the PTI

 

[Indus Pakistan]

- Was it because of too much idealism by the leader IK in his pre-election, campaign rhetoric which was completely out of sync with the ground realities of the country and how the country needed to actually be governed? End result he has badly alienated his supporters, the educated, middle class who expected him to swiftly end all their problems with a magic wand?

- Was it because in the effort to gain power, he had to bring in electables from other parties but that has resulted in the party being filled with yes men, opportunists, badniyat individuals who are actually working behind the PTI leaders back?

- Was it because of the leader IK just having badniyat intentions from the very start?

- Was it because the leader IK completely underestimated the power of the opposition who have had massive tentacles in the state and its institutions i.e. the police, judiciary, SBP, FBR, bureacracy and federal, provincial ministries and he in term blindly, immaturely thought that all these institutions would be easily fixable?

- Was it because the leader IK squandered a golden opportunity to go after the opposition brutally like a dictator and naively expected the state institutions to efficiently and justly hold them accountable in a speedy and just manner?

- Was it because he did not correctly prioritize the issues he needed to address expediently and made the mistake of focusing too much on issues, policies that will not really switch the electoral results in his favour?

- Overconfidence and arrogance that the army will continue to indefinately back him and that he did not really need to deliver quick, fast, urgent results to switch the electorate votes in his favour?

- Just overall incompetency i.e. he tried his best but governing Pakistan was totally beyond his capabilities.

I personally think it is a combination of the above. Even IK diehard supporters are now resigned to acknowledge that no matter whatever problems or challenges IK and the PTI had to face and encounter during the tenure, the bottom line is that they were the party in charge in the federal government, the buck stops at the bottom line which is they did not deliver at all and they have left Pakistan in a ten times worse state then when they took charge and if the common person on the street is ten times worse off vs when they took charge then there is no point of them governing the country.

The biggest tragedy about this whole saga and experience is that i seriously doubt the educated class, middle class, youth, overseas Pakistani's will ever participate in Pakistani elections ever again and will ever have faith in any new face. In fact it is now very much possible where the traditionally strong political parties like PML N, PPP e.t.c will now reference the PTI experience and propagate "Corrupt but Competent" is always the right, best choice for the nation vs "Non-Corrupt but incompetent". An untried person, a new person cannot be trusted to govern Pakistan as everyone has seen and experienced with the PTI

Most of the points you made are true but you talk as if NS or Zardari would have done better. I have reason to think they would have done better, indeed things would have been even worse. If IK has failed on back of three years what does 30 years of PML-N/PPP rule do for Pakistan? Since 1990s Pakistan has stagnated. In fact most of the structural issues that are holding Pakistan down date from that period.

I don't think IK has done any worse then the old guard - indeed he has done better but no doubt that he has failed against the high expectations. By that measure he has failed and the reason is simple. Pakistan's problems are deep rooted and would require major purges and changes. With a wobbly coalition and think majority IK from day one was on think ice and did not have the firm foundation to really purge and carve the rotten system.

The sad fact is the Pakistani political landscape would not allow any form of strong reformist leader to emerge or to effect change.

All the issues Pakistan faces like inflation etc are fundamental to Pakistan's structural issues and the global economy. I want to know how NS or Zardari would deal with these issues. Have they even proposed a alternative policy to address the issues?

Nope.

 

[R Wing]

- Was it because of too much idealism by the leader IK in his pre-election, campaign rhetoric which was completely out of sync with the ground realities of the country and how the country needed to actually be governed? End result he has badly alienated his supporters, the educated, middle class who expected him to swiftly end all their problems with a magic wand?

- Was it because in the effort to gain power, he had to bring in electables from other parties but that has resulted in the party being filled with yes men, opportunists, badniyat individuals who are actually working behind the PTI leaders back?

- Was it because of the leader IK just having badniyat intentions from the very start?

- Was it because the leader IK completely underestimated the power of the opposition who have had massive tentacles in the state and its institutions i.e. the police, judiciary, SBP, FBR, bureacracy and federal, provincial ministries and he in term blindly, immaturely thought that all these institutions would be easily fixable?

- Was it because the leader IK squandered a golden opportunity to go after the opposition brutally like a dictator and naively expected the state institutions to efficiently and justly hold them accountable in a speedy and just manner?

- Was it because he did not correctly prioritize the issues he needed to address expediently and made the mistake of focusing too much on issues, policies that will not really switch the electoral results in his favour?

- Overconfidence and arrogance that the army will continue to indefinately back him and that he did not really need to deliver quick, fast, urgent results to switch the electorate votes in his favour?

- Just overall incompetency i.e. he tried his best but governing Pakistan was totally beyond his capabilities.

I personally think it is a combination of the above. Even IK diehard supporters are now resigned to acknowledge that no matter whatever problems or challenges IK and the PTI had to face and encounter during the tenure, the bottom line is that they were the party in charge in the federal government, the buck stops at the bottom line which is they did not deliver at all and they have left Pakistan in a ten times worse state then when they took charge and if the common person on the street is ten times worse off vs when they took charge then there is no point of them governing the country.

The biggest tragedy about this whole saga and experience is that i seriously doubt the educated class, middle class, youth, overseas Pakistani's will ever participate in Pakistani elections ever again and will ever have faith in any new face. In fact it is now very much possible where the traditionally strong political parties like PML N, PPP e.t.c will now reference the PTI experience and propagate "Corrupt but Competent" is always the right, best choice for the nation vs "Non-Corrupt but incompetent". An untried person, a new person cannot be trusted to govern Pakistan as everyone has seen and experienced with the PTI

Excellent points. This is an important thread.

Let me add that IK only has himself to blame. It is not even about 'experience' --- it is about being a visionary AND an executer. You need to be in the top 0.1% of both these aspects to have any shot at reversing the rot afflicting our country. Needless to say, he didn't possess this combo.

The number one realization has to be that the present system isn't working. This means totally revamping the entire civil bureaucracy (should have had a detailed plan, given he was apparently waiting for this moment for decades), firing thousands of people, constructing two mega jails to house thousands of corrupt people, declaring some sort of emergency, etc.

Many people say that change takes time and that IK's hands were tied because he didn't enjoy the type of majority needed to be truly independent. Both things are true --- but they cannot excuse such bad performance.

These aspects did not force IK to appoint a buffoon as Punjab CM. They did not force IK to pick a cabinet full of questionable characters. Sure, there's pressure --- but if you can't deal with pressure, what are you doing in that seat?!

Those who know him well claim that he is very easy to trick in cabinet meetings --- like a child who is playing with Lego beyond his cognitive/age level. Perhaps he should have been an active President and appointed a ruthless 'doer' as the PM. He has admirable but naïve notions of how the world actually works and how work is GOTTEN (you can't just delegate and then expect for it to be done in the next cabinet meeting in a country like Pakistan --- only danda works) from lethargic and corrupt bureaucrats. Of course, the COAS extension was the icing on the cake.

It really pains me. And anyone who thinks that this was a decent showing, please wake up. Pakistan cannot afford 'decent' showings. Pakistan needs a TOTAL revamp in so many areas. Entire restructuring of government bodies, grassroot reform, revamped intakes, etc. --- and a new constitution.

You'll be hard-pressed to find a country stuck in a vicious circle of corruption, poverty, short-termism and mediocrity (of intellect, culture, etc. --- just a general lack of excellence) and an identity crisis RANDOMLY break free of this cycle and become a middle or serious economic power. This is because the parliamentary democracy system in a third world country does not allow the ridding of vested interests because there is no incentive to do so (why would the elected hold themselves accountable?) --- therefore the only hope left is a philosopher-king in the form of a highly intellectual AND ruthless visionary military dictator, revolutionary or striking oil.

My 2c.

 

[Jinn Baba]

Because he's an idiot. Because his party is full of idiotic lotas who are as useless as they ever were. And because they all work under another idiot who is probably already planning how to get another extension.

Then of course you've got other idiots and their kids waiting in the wings to replace these idiots.

 

[R Wing]

Most of the points you made are true but you talk as if NS or Zardari would have done better. I have reason to think they would have done better, indeed things would have been even worse. If IK has failed on back of three years what does 30 years of PML-N/PPP rule do for Pakistan? Since 1990s Pakistan has stagnated. In fact most of the structural issues that are holding Pakistan down date from that period.

I don't think IK has done any worse then the old guard - indeed he has done better but no doubt that he has failed against the high expectations. By that measure he has failed and the reason is simple. Pakistan's problems are deep rooted and would require major purges and changes. With a wobbly coalition and think majority IK from day one was on think ice and did not have the firm foundation to really purge and carve the rotten system.

The sad fact is the Pakistani political landscape would not allow any form of strong reformist leader to emerge or to effect change.

All the issues Pakistan faces like inflation etc are fundamental to Pakistan's structural issues and the global economy. I want to know how NS or Zardari would deal with these issues. Have they even proposed a alternative policy to address the issues?

Nope.

Good points.

Except that the wobbly coalition and deep-rooted problems didn't force him to appoint incompetent people at key posts. There are some things that he is alone responsible for.

If IK had taken MAJOR steps to cleanse the system and appointed the best team Pakistan had ever witnessed and yet still failed, it would be more forgivable. But he failed to take the most important first step of the best people. His cabinet hardly has any real visionaries. They're all recycled status quo clowns, save a few.

Because he's an idiot. Because his party is full of idiotic lotas who are as useless as they ever were. And because they all work under another idiot who is probably already planning how to get another extension.

Then of course you've got other idiots and their kids waiting in the wings to replace these idiots.

ANSWER OF THE DECADE.

You've summed up Pakistan in essentially one sentence. You deserve a medal --- except that Pakistan has disgraced its medals by giving them out to mediocre clowns. Everything is going to the shitter!

 

[Clutch]

Imran Khan didn't realize how totally corrupt and rotten to the core Pakistani:

1. political,
2. economic,
3. education,
4. media,
5. legal,
6. police,
7. bureaucracy,
8. civil society,
9. religious mafia,
10. business corporate,
11. and all other societal sectors...

...have become. He is surrounded by idiots and incompetent fools that in a parliamentary system make up the PTI.

 

[Pakistan Space Agency]

Because it is now obvious, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf is actually Pakistan Tehrik-e-Baqwas.

 

[R Wing]

Imran Khan didn't realize how totally corrupt and rotten to the core Pakistani:

1. political,
2. economic,
3. education,
4. media,
5. legal,
6. police,
7. bureaucracy,
8. civil society,
9. religious mafia,
10. business corporate,
11. and all other societal sectors...

...have become. He is surrounded by idiots and incompetent fools that in a parliamentary system make up the PTI.

Again, I agree. But that's his fault. His party was in power in KP. That should have given them a taste. He had been railing against corruption for decades. That should have helped.

The parliamentary system sucks, but it is not the reason IK put the biggest buffoon, Buzdar, as Punjab CM. And he also had wide latitude, which he has used often, to appoint SAPMs with the status of federal ministers (working around the 'elected' issue in the cabinet).

All your points are true --- but it's still totally IK's fault. Anybody who thinks that this country can be fixed short of radical, painful, emergency-like steps (all possible, even if difficult, in the present system --- but only by a ruthless visionary and 'doer'). IK has never managed anything more than a sports team (SKMCH was mostly professionally managed), so he is naive, easily fooled, etc. But these aren't excuses!

A true leader delivers results, not justifications.

 

[khanasifm]

Thank God it’s pti otherwise Patwaris zardaris easy loader and diseali would have made you cry for mercy

c-19 and inflation world phenomena not lost pak
Same story all
Over nothing new and it’s not just pak where the world is falling, Tinga karo like everyone else

US, EU etc inflation is at it highest

Tell me westerns world where very citizen has universal health care not in US except few like Canada
Tell me where there are center for old sick and day labor very few even in western world

but Patwaris zardaris easy loaders and diselei have no other mantra to show World is falling in pak only

so bamboo their r978 for good

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[Indus Pakistan]

Except that the wobbly coalition and deep-rooted problems didn't force him to appoint incompetent people at key posts. There are some things that he is alone responsible for.

You make the assumption that IK enjoyed the actual freedom to select the best team. The problem in parliamentary system is you have limitations and handicaps. It's not like in corporate sector or even sport where you just pick the best guy for the job.

In this case the choice of team will be taken with eye to all the political implications and intrique that go on. In addition there are even the warped Pakistani political culture to be respected. I give on example. I have for some time been reading on Atif Mian, one of the most brilliant living economists and sort of towering intellect who could play the role of a 'Young Turk' and help purge the Pakistani economic order. He was in fact early in the IK tenure selected as a advisor but then a there was uproar because it came out he was a Ahmedi. He was quitely removed from the role.

It's all these limitations that have crippled any chance to bring about real change. Please don't tell me though that those who ran the country into the ground like Zardari or NS are or have done any better.

 

[Maula Jatt]

Presidential system - where one Province cant dominate another

 

[Indus Pakistan]

A true leader delivers results, not justifications

By that definition Pakistan has had no true leader and future looks even more bleak unless you think Bilawal or Maryam are closet Ataturks.

Presidential system - where one Province cant dominate another

I agree 100%.

 

[Savak]

My additional 2 cents. I think the PTI govt should have pumped Add money in the electronic, print, visual and social media. It is unfortunately a necessary evil in our country where people watch political talk shows for entertainment. Heck these political talk shows get more advertising revenue than sporting events.

People constantly being fed anti PTI barking by some famous notorious news anchors has played a massive role in influencing people's minds.

 

[Indus Pakistan]

My additional 2 cents. I think the PTI govt should have pumped Add money in the electronic, print, visual and social media. It is unfortunately a necessary evil in our country where people watch political talk shows for entertainment. Heck these political talk shows get more advertising revenue than sporting events.

People constantly being fed anti PTI barking by some famous notorious news anchors has played a massive role in influencing people's minds.

Very valid point.

 

[Sal12]

Highly Incompetency and ego. When you appoint a person like Buzdar as CM of biggest province of Pak then you cannot blame anyone. You are bound to fail. IK will remain incompetent even if he becomes PM for 100 years. There is no hope from IK.

IK has shown us that this is not the corruption and loot only which destroys the nation and bring misery to the people but incompetency is equally bad and damaging for the nation when it crosses all the limit.