News Analysis |
Two mainstream political parties are not happy over the comments passed by Prime Minister Imran Khan during his recent visit to Malaysia. Former minister for interior Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday alleged that the PTI-led government was “running a propaganda against Pakistan abroad”. Mr. Iqbal praised the efforts of PML-N government and maintained that the present government was likely to waste everything his government managed to achieve.
“We fear that this propaganda being run by the government will negatively impact the efforts made by our government over the past five years,” he said. Similarly, chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday said that PM Khan did no remember the place and stage where he was making a speech. “When PM Khan speaks [about Pakistan] abroad, he forgets that he is representing the nation there,” Bilawal stated.
PM Khan’s supporters maintain that he has done a great job and it will help Pakistan stabilizing its politics and economy in the future.
Both leaders were alluding to PM Khan’s recent visit to Malaysia where he had passed some hard-hitting comments about the corrupt political elite in Pakistan. PM Khan had said that he was interested to follow the model designed and implemented by Dr. Mahathir Mohammad, Prime Minister of Malaysia, to eradicate corruption. PM Khan also highlighted the state of affairs in Pakistan and clearly stated that the corruption and money laundering had badly affected the political and social fabric of Pakistan.
Read more: PM Khan’s diplomatic parleys continue: Set to visit Malaysia
It is also worth mentioning here that PM Khan had made the same remarks when he visited Saudi Arabia and China. In SA, Mr. Khan repeatedly said that the political elite in Pakistan had looted the country and made corruption a regular norm in Pakistan. Opposition parties believe that such comments by the head of the executive outside Pakistan bring a bad name to the country.
Mr. Iqbal praised the efforts of PML-N government and maintained that the present government was likely to waste everything his government managed to achieve.
Mr. Bilawal says that since PM Khan is facing many problems at home and abroad therefore he is making such uncalled-for remarks in his speeches. “Imran Khan is facing a lot of problems within and outside Pakistan, which is why he wants his political opponents to be demonized,” added the PPP leader while addressing a press conference in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Read more: Fan-girl moment between PM Khan and Malaysia’s First Lady is heart-melting
However, many analysts in Pakistan praise Imran Khan for his honest and precise speeches which he makes without any piece of paper having in his pocket. “The world knows about Pakistan, its economy, and politics. We cannot hide anything from them by making some speeches in a flowery language. PM Khan is making speeches with utmost honesty and this is what the investors and world leaders like the most,” says a Lahore based political analyst.
Furthermore, it is said to be the core intention of PM Khan to let the world know that Pakistan is going to curb the corruption, regardless of how mighty the accused are. PM Khan deliberately exposed the true face of corrupt political elite in Pakistan to let the investors know that we have identified the problem and now we are on a way to fix it. This gives a sense of assurance to foreign investors who always look for political stability and social harmony to invest in a country like Pakistan. PM Khan’s supporters maintain that he has done a great job and it will help Pakistan stabilizing its politics and economy in the future.