Imran Khan has become the prime minister of the country. In his maiden speech on the floor of the National Assembly, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had extended congratulations to Imran Khan, referring to him as ‘select’, however, Khan thumped the desk brushing aside the reference as such a message coming from the opposition benches (on that day) was unusual.
The speeches of both the Leader of the House and Leader of the Opposition (Shehbaz Sharif) should have been delivered in complete silence. However, both the parties turned the session boisterous, the result of which was that neither Imran Khan was able to deliver his speech properly, nor Shehbaz Sharif.
The party loyalists of both the leaders stirred a tumult and earned praise from their fellows. Later, Shah Mehmood Qureshi stated that had Imran Khan been given a chance, he would have made a remarkable speech.
In Punjab, the opposition is strong considering the numbers game but here Ch Pervaiz Elahi was elected the Speaker of the House and so both the Leader of the House and Leader of the Opposition made their speeches without interruption.
Ch Pervaiz Elahi advised both the parties to follow traditions in order to convey the message more effectively. If the opposition and treasury benches tighten the noose around each other, they would be left ineffective.
Chief Minister Buzdar concluded his speech in few minutes, however, Hamza Shehbaz tested the patience of his rivals at length. If Asad Qaiser had an experience equivalent to that of Pervaiz Elahi, he would also have convinced both the parties to listen to each other, in their own interest.
Anyhow, there is not much left to be done. In the future, it would be beneficial for all to keep the atmosphere of the National Assembly pleasant.
The crux of the matter is that Imran Khan has now become the prime minister of the country. A few of his emotional rivals keep on venting out their emotions by labelling him as ‘selected’, however, these are the same people who also keep on branding Nawaz Sharif as criminal or disqualified, presumably to help themselves feel better. Their remarks affect neither Imran Khan nor Nawaz Sharif.
Despite complaints of electoral irregularities, Imran Khan has now been accepted by all. The eight-hour-long briefing given to him at the General Head Quarters (GHQ) has also had a great impact, and it is a matter of relief that there is no distance between the civilian and military leaders.
The Information Minister, Fawad Chaudhry has announced that the civilian and military leadership were both on the same page, and were, in fact, “reading the same book”, believing it important to clarify that (according to the constitution) the military was subordinate to the government.
The Army has no objection and every other Pakistani wishes that the civil-military leaders continue to keep this in mind. All will be well as long as the subordinate institution continues to function in line with the directives of the superior one, but if there are regular reminders about ‘secondary status’, the situation becomes tense.
On Friday, an opportunity was availed to visit the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) with Ajmal Jami, Umar Shami and Usman Shami where a detailed discussion with DG ISPR, Major General Asif Ghafoor was held. It was not the first interaction with the military spokesperson, however, one can find an element of newness in the pretext of ‘Naya Pakistan’.
The Friday prayer was offered in the GHQ mosque where a meet up with Chief of the Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa also took place. General Bajwa’s frank and affectionate demeanour was also noted. Lieutenant General Bilal Akbar also met with traditional cordiality. A few more handshakes were exchanged, and once again, the armed forces made us proud.
6th September is around the corner and this time, the day is being celebrated under the keen watch of Major General Asif Ghafoor. The day has been declared ‘Defence and Martyrs Day’ to remember the martyrs and pay respect to their families. The armed forces have also considered the blood, shed by police and other civilians.
At one end, our valiant forces defeated the rivals on borders, while on the other end, they defeated the menace of terrorism. The armed forces have registered a new history of sacrifices and victories on every front.
Pakistan’s Army is rated among the top-notch forces, and it can only be hoped that our civilian structure achieves such distinction and our democracy exemplifies responsibility and dutifulness.
The accountability should be on the basis of power. Upon return from the GHQ, my heart swelled up with sheer happiness to see that a spirit to make the institutions autonomous prevailed in military corridors as well.
New norms need to be adopted for Naya Pakistan.
Imran Khan has desired to grant him three months after which he would steer the government in the right direction, and it would be wise to wait out this period.
In a discussion with anchors, Imran Khan has expressed that the opposition was weak and posed no threat. His (Imran’s) observation is right to the extent that both the major political parties of opposition (Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party) carry out their own style of politics. The failure to field a joint presidential candidate has increased the hopes of the government. Columnist Sohail Warraich has laid out a long line of arguments in favor of Aitzaz Ahsan, emphasising that there is no better contender. He considered the candidacy of Maulana Fazlur Rehman unnecessary, but felt there was no choice as Asif Zardari did not cast vote in favour of Shehbaz Sharif even after delegating the authority of fielding a candidate for the prime ministership to the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz.
Later, Aitzaz Ahsan was nominated as the presidential candidate unilaterally, making an arrangement for being devoid of the support of PML-N. Hence, the opposition parties made the success of govt’s nominee, Arif Alvi evident.
Arif Alvi is a determined political leader and among the founding members of PTI. He is highly educated and an accomplished dentist. Karachiites remember his father, Dr Elahi Alvi with respect.
So congratulations to Arif Alvi for the presidency.
Besides all this, the core problem concerning Imran Khan is his unbridled supporters. They exist both in his party and in media. They resemble with a young groom who has tied the knot but is oblivious to spending the wedding night.
May Almighty protect the ‘bride of authority’.
