News Analysis |
Reacting sourly to the Pakistan Tehrek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) ambitious agenda to change policies in the first 100-days of governance [if elected], the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has described the plan as an eyewash.
The PML-N has asked the people of the country to relate PTI’s tall claims with the previous such plan [agenda] of the party, when it miserably failed to implement the so-called 90-day agenda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2013. There was a marked difference between the hollow rhetoric and the actual actions of the PTI Chief Imran Khan in KP.
The PML-N Provincial President Amir Muqam believes that since the PTI Chief was unable to stick to his 90-days agenda, he should not be believed once again as he failed to endorse his earlier commitments in the province.
The transformation of work culture in KP was indeed a commendable job and the provision of services in government institutions is laudable as well. However, failing to build eye-catching projects can prove to be costly.
While addressing a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, the ruling party’s Chief of KP was critical of PTI’s performance in the province and termed the PTI’s 100-day plan-a political gimmick as the party was not sincere to bring the real change in the country.
Imran’s slogan to revolutionize the lives of the people in the country is false, he asserted. Since Khan was unable to deliver in KP and could not fulfill his claim of change in the province, he should not be taken seriously. He lambasted the PTI led-KP’s coalition government for not being able to construct any mega projects in the province. The only mega project of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) remains incomplete which demonstrates party’s incompetence and lack of experience in accomplishing such projects.
He advised the party to take lead from the Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif, who can complete such mega projects in a very shorts span of time. Moreover, lamenting the progression in the BRT project, he said that the provincial government has destroyed the entire infrastructure of Peshawar, making the daily lives of the people miserable.
Read more: PTI’s Plan for first 100 Days: Analyzing its strengths and weaknesses
He accused the CM Pervez Khattak of running pink buses [given for Abbottabad and Mardan by the Japanese government] on the incomplete BRT route which is a complete violation of the original plan. Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique slammed Imran’s 100-day plan and termed it nothing more than false claims and mere eloquence.
In series of tweets, he said, “the promises of 10 million jobs, five million houses, one billion trees and 350 dams are just a mirage”. On April 24, 2013, Imran, while addressing a press conference in Lahore, put forward a 90-day plan.
The PML-N Provincial President Amir Muqam believes that since the PTI Chief was unable to stick to his 90-days agenda, he should not be believed once again as he failed to endorse his earlier commitments in the province.
The PTI claimed, back in 2013, to hold the local elections in the first 90-days after coming into power. Though he was not able to conduct them in 90-days, he held the local elections on May 30, 2015 and set a precedent for other party’s to follow.
The PTI was the first party in the country to empower the lowest tier of the province and funds were channelized to the local bodies. They may not have done so in first 90-days but the KP government managed to depoliticize the police and was apparently successful in changing the role of the legislators. They were no longer able to control the local system by pressurizing the police or transfer the officers on will. This devolved the power to the people from MNA’s and MPA’s.
It is easy to criticize the government for not being realistic about the prospects of mega projects. Chief Executive Officer Altaf Khan Durrani (CEO) of the BRT project had assured the government many times of a timely launch of the project in April or May but failed to deliver on his promise resulting in a delay.
Read more: Can the new entrants from Jhang win for PTI?
Had the CEO not kept the KP CM in the dark over the project, Khattak would not have built a political narrative, where during the public engagements, he declared that buses will operative prior to end of the government’s tenure. The balance between the infrastructural and institutional development lacks in KPK. To stay in power, one must know the psyche of the public. In Pakistan, eye-catching infrastructural projects are critical to re-election.
Politicians play with the perception of people. Sticking to an agenda is great, the transformation of work culture in KP was indeed a commendable job and the provision of services in government institutions is laudable as well. However, failing to build eye-catching projects can prove to be costly.