After advertising Asad Umar for years as an economic genius who will solve our economic problems, Imran Khan sacked him after only 8 months, much to the humiliation of the PTI supporters who spent 8 months defending and justifying his performance.
In addition, he turned down the services of one of the leading economists in the world because he couldn’t withstand the pressure of the mullahs.
Furthermore, prior to the election, he made tall claims that Pakistan will never go begging on his watch. In fact, he was so bullish that he claimed that he would rather commit suicide instead of seeking IMF’s help.
This can either mean two things:
(a) he was either exceptionally ignorant of Pakistan’s economic problems, and was laboring under the delusion that his team, headed by the economic genius Asad Umar, was going to find internal solutions and Pakistan will be able to boost its economy without a begging bowl.
OR
(b) he knew exactly what he was doing - he fooled the public by lying to them that his government will not beg other countries and IMF for loans.
Pakistan is a gullible nation and our people have cult mentality. Once they invest in a leader emotionally, they buy everything he/she says or does with closed eyes.
When Imran Khan insisted that Pakistan will not beg others, they bought it without realizing that it was impossible.
Neither of these two possibilities make Imran look any good. Depending on whether you choose (a) or (b), he either comes across as incompetent and ignorant (for believing that Pakistan will not have to beg others to improve their economic conditions) or a liar and a manipulator for misleading the nation for cheap votes and electoral momentum.
It was very important for PTI to come into federal power because they deserve to get exposed at a national level.
They flopped in KP and their tall claims blew in their faces, but hiding failure in one province is relatively easier.
Their social media propaganda is very strong and they were able to project a very different image of their inept performance in KP, which was of course easily accepted by people who have never stepped foot in KP.
This party is a circus and is only good at running their mouths, making tall claims, taking U-turns, fooling the public and then ultimately cracking under pressure.
If we look at what Imran used to say 4-5 years ago, he has pretty much turned his back on everything, and that is what happens when you don’t have a clear, long-term plan.
During his years in the opposition, he was preoccupied with demagogy, creating anarchy, spreading hate and criticizing other parties without establishing a plan of what his government will do when it comes into power.
As a result, we have had nothing but 10 months of chaos. Chopping and changing ministers, making up policies and then immediately discarding them, taking U-turns after U-turns and wilting under pressure - it has been a complete circus and a clear indication that they don’t have what it takes to steer this country in the right direction.
This circus is not going to end any time soon. After losing faith in his champion Asad Umar after only 9 months, he has appointed a former PPP Finance Minister as Financial Advisor, the same PPP that he has criticized for years for ruining our economy.
Cult members will of course defend everything, and now their defense is that although Hafeez Shaikh failed under Zardari, he did well under Musharraf.
Now the question is, considering the state of our economy, is there any logic in appointment someone as Financial Advisor with a 50-50 record? Is it a prudent decision to appoint someone who has failed in his last stint?
These are all valid criticisms that will be conveniently deflected by the same old mantra of “oh what about PMLN and PPP and the mess that they created” and “what about their corruption and incompetency” etc.
However, PTI supporters need to realize that Imran and this government cannot hide behind the mistakes and failures of other governments forever.
At some point, they will have to show the results and the impact of their economic policies and they will have to show that they have what it takes to drive the country forward.
Things will obviously not change overnight, but the signs so far do not look good. You can’t produce results in about 1 year, but you can certainly show that you are on the right track.
PTI so far has not been able to do that, which is why many of the genuine PTI supporters (who are not cult members) are losing hope as well.
This government is in a state of confusion and disorder. They don’t have clearly defined objectives and they are simply making up things as they go long.
This is not limited to the economy only - for example, Imran Khan has given the Ministry of Science & Technology to a man who thinks that the Hubble Telescope was sent to space by Pakistan.
PTI’s decision making so far is a clear example of what poor planning and not doing your homework looks like, and this is what happens when you spend your days in the opposition criticizing, mocking, abusing and insulting other parties instead of focusing on what you are going to do when you come in power.
