How should PTI have handled the Atif Mian saga?

[Abdullah719]

Various ways to look at this issue.

First option is, that they should have never appointed him at all. They knew what the mindset of the majority is and they shouldn't have appointed him and then backtracked.

Second option is that they should have stuck with the appointment, at all costs. Public protests and dharnas with the likes of Khadim Rizvi would have likely followed, and possibly future law and order problems.

Third option is that they did the right thing. They backed him for the first few days, saying that they won't be intimidated by anyone, but they eventually succumbed to the pressure. This leaves the govt. in a very vulnerable position whereby they come off as massive hypocrites and/or weak.


It's quite a messy situation. Considering the dynamics of the society and popular opinion, I think the first option was probably the best, sadly. It will take a long time for Pakistan to get out of this rut.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Stuck with the appointment.

 

[Eagle_Eye]

Agree with Appointment and then removal.

I think this progress in a way. Everyone has been forced to think.

 

[Syed1]

Should have appointed him silently and sneaked it in. They cannot change the mindset of majority of Pakistanis overnight, most of whom will cry crocodile tears for Muslims abroad but won't even give basic rights to minorities at home.

 

[shah_1]

Should have never appointed him. Didn't they learn anything from 2014 backlash they had to face by these Mullahs ?
I knew what was going to happen. Pti made a mockery of themselves. They look weak for this uturn.

 

[Eagle_Eye]

Should have appointed him silently and sneaked it in. They cannot change the mindset of majority of Pakistanis overnight, most of whom will cry crocodile tears for Muslims abroad but won't even give basic rights to minorities at home.

That's what they tried to do. But you know who intervened.

 

[Waseem]

For me it's a TERRIBLE decision not because they appointed him and then backed off. If it was first time they named him and then back off, it would have been disappointing but understandable.

Reason why it is pathetic decision is because they knew the backlash from 2014 and still decided to appoint him which means they knew there would be a backlash so if they selected knowing the reaction well then why did they back off??? Either don't appoint him and if you did, stick to your decision.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

For me it's a TERRIBLE decision not because they appointed him and then backed off. If it was first time they named him and then back off, it would have been disappointing but understandable.

Reason why it is pathetic decision is because they knew the backlash from 2014 and still decided to appoint him which means they knew there would be a backlash so if they selected knowing the reaction well then why did they back off??? Either don't appoint him and if you did, stick to your decision.

Finally a sane PTI supporter who is not a jiyala.

 

[Fahdi]

Hard to say.

They should never have appointed and avoided the backlash I guess. I was happy when I saw the decision to appoint him and hoped that people will be alright with it and we will head toward a more open minded and accepting society. But I knew the hope was foolish and the public backlash was going to come.

When the appointment had been made I hoped they would be able to stick to it. Reality was soon starting to become clear though as the people were starting to turn against PTI. Atif being eventually removed was inevitable but the PTI but more of a fight would have been nice to see.

Sticking with the decision till the end would have been utterly foolish. PTI is not in the position of someone like Jibran Nasir, they cannot afford to risk their entire government over the appointment of one individual. Like it or not the majority of the public is closed minded on this issue. Today was Jummah and some of my friends mentioned hateful and anti-Qadiyani khutbas being delivered in Masjids over this appointment.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Btw feeling really bad for our Ahmadi countrymen. Our third class attitude with them continues.

As poet said:

Ay meray hamnasheen chal kahin aur chal
Iss chaman mai ab apna guzara nahi
baat hoti gulon tak to sah letay ham
ab to kaanton pai bhi haq hamara nahi

Hope things get better for them. Only way forward is to speak in their support. Do you really believe extremists will allow us to educate masses through books, media etc when a simple appointment made such a huge issue?

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Sticking with the decision till the end would have been utterly foolish. PTI is not in the position of someone like Jibran Nasir, they cannot afford to risk their entire government over the appointment of one individual.

One Jibran Nasir showed more spine than whole government who have the support of Law enforcement agencies etc while Jibran continued his election campaign despite death threats and fatwas issued against him in mosques. Btw PTI supporters on twitter in full swing bashing Jibran and making it look like it was Jibran's fault lol knowingly ignoring what happened in 2014.

 

[Fahdi]

One Jibran Nasir showed more spine than whole government who have the support of Law enforcement agencies etc while Jibran continued his election campaign despite death threats and fatwas issued against him in mosques. Btw PTI supporters on twitter in full swing bashing Jibran and making it look like it was Jibran's fault lol knowingly ignoring what happened in 2014.

I support Jibran on many things. I admire his spirit and his guts to stand up for what he feels is right. But the fact remains PTI has too much on the line unlike Jibran Nasir, they aren't going to risk it for one adviser. If I was in Imran Khan's position I would never have had the guts to appoint Atif Mian in the first place.

Long may Jibran Nasir continue his fight against the extremist mentality but the majority public isn't ready to embrace it and I don't expect any government to go up against the public on this for at least the next 10 years.

One day hopefully a more educated public will be open minded enough to not lose their minds over a Qadiyani appointment on an advisory role but that day isn't going to come anytime soon.

 

[hussain.r97]

Considering the backlash they received in 2014, they should never have appointed him in the first place, they should instead have quietly consulted him for economic advice.

The current climate in Pakistan is extremely dangerous and intolerant, and it is currently not conducive to such moves. PTI needs to come up with a national deradicalization plan, and it needs to be implemented as soon as possible. They can test the waters again 8 years down the line, perhaps the climate in Pakistan by then will be good enough for such moves.

 

[Fahdi]

Btw feeling really bad for our Ahmadi countrymen. Our third class attitude with them continues.

As poet said:

Ay meray hamnasheen chal kahin aur chal
Iss chaman mai ab apna guzara nahi
baat hoti gulon tak to sah letay ham
ab to kaanton pai bhi haq hamara nahi

Hope things get better for them. Only way forward is to speak in their support. Do you really believe extremists will allow us to educate masses through books, media etc when a simple appointment made such a huge issue?

Most people I am acquainted with were OK with this decision. A highly educated public will have amore open mind. That is the only hope for this mess.

 

[Major]

people are not understanding here that its not about PTI bringing him or removing him as an adviser.

This is Pakistan's loss. THe bigots might be celebrating this as a victory, but it is pakistan that would be deprived of a great economic mind.

This guy is considered amongest the top 20 economist. BUt no, we would rather have idiots like moulana fazlu diesel

 

[Syed1]

people are not understanding here that its not about PTI bringing him or removing him as an adviser.

This is Pakistan's loss. THe bigots might be celebrating this as a victory, but it is pakistan that would be deprived of a great economic mind.

This guy is considered amongest the top 20 economist. BUt no, we would rather have idiots like moulana fazlu diesel

I only see you celebrating

 

[Fahdi]

people are not understanding here that its not about PTI bringing him or removing him as an adviser.

This is Pakistan's loss. THe bigots might be celebrating this as a victory, but it is pakistan that would be deprived of a great economic mind.

This guy is considered amongest the top 20 economist. BUt no, we would rather have idiots like moulana fazlu diesel

Yes Indeed. It is Pakistan's loss.

I'm afraid the guy may end up as the Abdus Salam of our times.

 

[Syed1]

You know what would make the situation a little better (albeit not by much), if they announce his replacement from a minority religion.

 

[Pakpak]

Should have appointed him silently and sneaked it in. They cannot change the mindset of majority of Pakistanis overnight, most of whom will cry crocodile tears for Muslims abroad but won't even give basic rights to minorities at home.

Also the PM of twitter needlessly raised this issue.

 

[hussain.r97]

Also the PM of twitter needlessly raised this issue.

I see a lot of people blaming Jibran Nasir, but the fact is that there was already a huge outcry in twitter well before he tweeted.

 

[Waseem]

I see a lot of people blaming Jibran Nasir, but the fact is that there was already a huge outcry in twitter well before he tweeted.

Reason i can't blame Jibran or others is because this issue was raised back in 2014 as well and Atif's background was well known. This was bound to happen and this is why it's a mystery why they decided to appoint him and drop him.

 

[DrSchultz]

I read somewhere that Atif worked as an economic advisor for the punjab government during pmln era. Any truth to this?

 

[IMMY69]

Should never have appointed him in the first place, but when they did they should have stuck with him.

Changing the constitution is the only possible way now and I would back them if they did.

 

[hussain.r97]

They should have at least fought on for a few more days before giving up. Them giving up after two days is most upsetting. If they stuck with him for a month, then at least they could have shown they are willing to fight these Mullahs while also getting something out of his appointment.

 

[Couch Cricketer]

I want IK/Pti to stay in power for at least 10 years as it will take that long to fix and overhaul all the systems so for that reason I am able to digest this decision as this could have led to pti government falling. I hope 5 years from now after the next election pti has enough political capital to spend on such issues.
The poll choices are wrong though. With the benefit of hindsight for me they should not have selected him but as they did select him they should not have reversed it. But I understand why they reversed the decision as well so I would select all 3.

 

[A-1]

Funny thing about this whole fiasco is the over reaction by patwaris and the "zinda hai bhutto zinda hai" (aka ZHBZH) campaigners

Who wanted to apoint Atif Mian = PTI
Who started a campaign against him and played the religious card = Patwaris, ZHBZH and the Fanatics
What did PTI Do = Remove him (unfortunate decision which I don't Agree with)
Who are still crying about it = Patwaris and ZHBZH wala

Bhai you cant win against such folks, Thick from the core. Atleast us PTI supporters admit and criticize our leaders for wrong decision unlike some that cant even condemn their masters for blatant corruption.

Keep burning and hurting I say.

 

[Savak]

Given that they knew that he was an Ahmedi from the beginning, they should not have appointed him in the first place. But when they did, then they should have stuck by the appointment because removing someone due to public backclash only shows weakness and lack of spine.

I find Pakistan to be a ridiculously strange place, under Musharraf's govt, we had a Christian i.e. Col (R) S.K.Tressler as the Minister of Culture and no body raised any objections what so ever. I am pretty sure the Pakistani nation will be okay with a Hindu as a Minister or in the worst case scenario a Shia individual as a minister, but is not willing to accept an Ahmedi in the govt?

 

[Savak]

Bhutto and Zia ul Haq did immense damage to this country with the former's nationalization policies and the later's religious extremist policies and ideologies. Destroyed every fabric of our society

 

[Savak]

On a side note, is it possible for them to obtain Atif Mian's services secretly behind the scenes. Like he may not officially be on this council but he could be asked for his input, suggestions and recommendations behind the scenes?

 

[Asim_khan]

On a side note, is it possible for them to obtain Atif Mian's services secretly behind the scenes. Like he may not officially be on this council but he could be asked for his input, suggestions and recommendations behind the scenes?

Probably not. Especially now other members are resigning. Seriously pathetic situation. We don't deserve good things.

 

[Bewal Express]

I can see why they appointed him but the country is not ready to treat minorities with respect and these maulvis are just desperate for any issue to get their teeth into.

 

[Fahdi]

Given that they knew that he was an Ahmedi from the beginning, they should not have appointed him in the first place. But when they did, then they should have stuck by the appointment because removing someone due to public backclash only shows weakness and lack of spine.

I find Pakistan to be a ridiculously strange place, under Musharraf's govt, we had a Christian i.e. Col (R) S.K.Tressler as the Minister of Culture and no body raised any objections what so ever. I am pretty sure the Pakistani nation will be okay with a Hindu as a Minister or in the worst case scenario a Shia individual as a minister, but is not willing to accept an Ahmedi in the govt?

Anybody who knows anything about Pakistan will know that the Qadiyani issue cannot be seen in the same light as the other minorities.

 

[saeedhk]

Also the PM of twitter needlessly raised this issue.

Do some research. Very ignorant post about JN.

 

[Slog]

So Imran Khan was asked about this in a foreign interview.

And he gave an answer. He basically said that it was really hard to have to do that. But when you have 6-7 problems you have to pick your battles and we felt not budging on this would bring country to a standstill and make problems worse. However in the future they will hopefully deal with it in a different way. And also pointed in a way to how tlp leadership was jailed.

What do you guys think of the answer? Not entirely happy but atleast there is acknowledgement that the right thing was not done