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If Imran Khan fails then Pakistan need a bloody revolution

srh

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Everybody is now saying that Imran Khan has failed.

Lets remember that Sharif family and Bhutto/Zardari family and their cronies are corrupt and have looted Pakistan.

So if Imran Khan has really failed then to go back to Sharif or Butto/Zardari family would be foolish. I think then Pakistan need a bloody revolution to root out the looters whether they are in army or judiciary or politicians or media.
 
Who is this everybody? So you lot gave corrupt toola 30-40 years but called IK a failure even before his 2 years are completed? His two years are done in August 2020. He will complete his 5 years. Then you can assess after.
 
Pakistanis are so immature :) He has not failed, he has not even been in power for 2 years. Yes, some people desperately want him to fail :)
 
Bloody revolution won't go well in Pak as it will only lead to chaos, instability and more influence from India (Sindhudesh, Balochistan movements).
 
Some people are just uhh

Think people for God sake think
 
Imran has already failed. There is no ‘if’.

Poor guy had good intentions, but he inherited a mess, couldn’t find a good team, the public is stupid and his tongue is slippery.

On a serious note, he got carried away with political rhetoric and built unrealistic expectations. If you look at the promises that he made during his campaign, he has not been able to fulfill any of them.

Naya Pakistan is the greatest scam this country has ever seen. He has fooled the entire nation.

He has unleashed an assortment of incompetent, uneducated gutter-mouths on the nation under the pretext of tabdeeli.

He is also a beneficiary of the mafias and has completely destroyed our economy. The standard of living in the country has nosedived and it will only get worse in the future.

The opposition is quite and there are no dharnas, no protests, no boycotts etc. because they know that Imran is on the path to self-destruction.

His masters in GHQ will be forced to act eventually. There are already factions developing within the military who regret backing Imran.
 
Imran has already failed. There is no ‘if’.

Poor guy had good intentions, but he inherited a mess, couldn’t find a good team, the public is stupid and his tongue is slippery.

On a serious note, he got carried away with political rhetoric and built unrealistic expectations. If you look at the promises that he made during his campaign, he has not been able to fulfill any of them.

Naya Pakistan is the greatest scam this country has ever seen. He has fooled the entire nation.

He has unleashed an assortment of incompetent, uneducated gutter-mouths on the nation under the pretext of tabdeeli.

He is also a beneficiary of the mafias and has completely destroyed our economy. The standard of living in the country has nosedived and it will only get worse in the future.

The opposition is quite and there are no dharnas, no protests, no boycotts etc. because they know that Imran is on the path to self-destruction.

His masters in GHQ will be forced to act eventually. There are already factions developing within the military who regret backing Imran.

When this is the attitude/thought process of the so called educated Pakistani, than you have the answer.

Basically they deserve the corrupt and shameless PPP and PMLN.
 
When this is the attitude/thought process of the so called educated Pakistani, than you have the answer.

Basically they deserve the corrupt and shameless PPP and PMLN.
No one cares about corruption it's not a big deal at the end of the day

Education makes you think pros and cons and if a corrupt guy can keep a country stable than go take my money cause if a saaf niyat can't handle the mostly "political" problems than economy will also suffer because of it
 
Why are you guys so impatience? Let him complete his full tenure and decide then. There are certain things he has to look into and I am sure he is doing that, and on top of that Covid-19 is not making things easier. Every single country is facing challenges.

Even here in Scandinavia there is a big recession in economy, but things will get better if the second wave is milder than the first one.
 
No one cares about corruption it's not a big deal at the end of the day

Education makes you think pros and cons and if a corrupt guy can keep a country stable than go take my money cause if a saaf niyat can't handle the mostly "political" problems than economy will also suffer because of it

[MENTION=1269]Bewal Express[/MENTION] check the mentality of these people :))
 
No one cares about corruption it's not a big deal at the end of the day

Education makes you think pros and cons and if a corrupt guy can keep a country stable than go take my money cause if a saaf niyat can't handle the mostly "political" problems than economy will also suffer because of it

What a stupid post. I don't know where to begin.
 
Imran has already failed. There is no ‘if’.

Poor guy had good intentions, but he inherited a mess, couldn’t find a good team, the public is stupid and his tongue is slippery.

On a serious note, he got carried away with political rhetoric and built unrealistic expectations. If you look at the promises that he made during his campaign, he has not been able to fulfill any of them.

Naya Pakistan is the greatest scam this country has ever seen. He has fooled the entire nation.

He has unleashed an assortment of incompetent, uneducated gutter-mouths on the nation under the pretext of tabdeeli.

He is also a beneficiary of the mafias and has completely destroyed our economy. The standard of living in the country has nosedived and it will only get worse in the future.

The opposition is quite and there are no dharnas, no protests, no boycotts etc. because they know that Imran is on the path to self-destruction.

His masters in GHQ will be forced to act eventually. There are already factions developing within the military who regret backing Imran.

Uncle Tom, IK has not failed, your politics of loot and plunder, worship of Billo James and Calibri Queen has failed. And the fact that you talk about the mafia is showing that you are now talking his language. The Kaptaan has changed you! Lol
 
No one cares about corruption it's not a big deal at the end of the day

Education makes you think pros and cons and if a corrupt guy can keep a country stable than go take my money cause if a saaf niyat can't handle the mostly "political" problems than economy will also suffer because of it

Firstly your post is very poor. Secondly there is contradiction in your post as well. Corruption will make the economy suffer..
 
A revolution in the Pakistani context is basically a military coup.

It's been 13 years since the last army rule. Do Pakistani people really want another injection of short term economic growth with the underlying fundamentals going for a toss, and for said military leader to run out of fuel after his customary 5-7 years at the top?
 
Imran is not a failure. In cricketing sense, he is a very good batsman, batting on a very difficult wicket against a hostile bowling and losing batsmen on other ends. But he is a solid bat and has lots of overs to reach to his target. Will win the game at the end.

All his life , he achieve the success , but after a long hard work.
 
My prediction, last two years of his five year tenure will be great . This year will be the hardest, thanks to Corona .
 
A revolution in the Pakistani context is basically a military coup.

It's been 13 years since the last army rule. Do Pakistani people really want another injection of short term economic growth with the underlying fundamentals going for a toss, and for said military leader to run out of fuel after his customary 5-7 years at the top?

No. There have been polls that show the majority of people want Democracy to continue.
 
Firstly your post is very poor. Secondly there is contradiction in your post as well. Corruption will make the economy suffer..
last time I heard 25$ thing was being sold to US army for 1000$ by a contractors for decades and literally hundreds of other corruption cases just in US and I am not even talking about Russia, China and Gulf countries

I wonder maybe all these countries are also suffering from crippling financial crisis
 
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last time I heard 25$ thing was being sold to US army for 1000$ by a contractors for decades and literally hundreds of other corruption cases just in US and I am not even talking about Russia, China and Gulf countries

I wonder maybe all these countries are also suffering from crippling financial crisis

only poor posts I saw were by a certain OBL apologist go figure

Lol, just stop it there before you make fool of yourself. The countries you mentioned are devoloped countries and even then many companies go bankrupt when contracts or projects are awarded unfairly due to corruption and that affects the society. Moreover for developing markets like Pakistan this is even more dangerous.
 
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A revolution in the Pakistani context is basically a military coup.

It's been 13 years since the last army rule. Do Pakistani people really want another injection of short term economic growth with the underlying fundamentals going for a toss, and for said military leader to run out of fuel after his customary 5-7 years at the top?
Actually quite the opposite. Military coups in Pakistan happens to stop revolution in the bud.
 
What is the realistic alternative supposing Imran Khan has "failed"? (Big lols by the way! :)) )

-Military coup: highly unlikely.

-Return of the thieves: both PPP and PMLN still owe this country all that stolen money. Just return the looted money, that's all that matters at this point.

As hopeless as the current situation may seem, I have no doubt in my mind that Pakistan will stay firm and things will improve.

That said, if there is yet another dictatorship or, God forbid, people vote for one of these 2 crooked families then I guess they will get what they wished for and we will have an action replay of last decades.
 
What is the realistic alternative supposing Imran Khan has "failed"? (Big lols by the way! :)) )

Lest we forget, this was the leader of the resistance a few weeks ago:

256670_743769_updates.jpg
 
Lest we forget, this was the leader of the resistance a few weeks ago:

256670_743769_updates.jpg
The trillions of rupees that consistently disappeared year after year ended up in these villains and their insatiable minions' bellies.

One of the reason we see so many Nooras/Puttoz screaming around is because they can't steal money with previous years' ease.

Make them cry Imran!
 
You just need to have 4-5 civilian government coming one after another. If institutions are strong then countries do well in long-term. If IK does a bad job then voters will not elect him again. If he does a good job then he will get elected. No revolution is needed.
 
You just need to have 4-5 civilian government coming one after another. If institutions are strong then countries do well in long-term. If IK does a bad job then voters will not elect him again. If he does a good job then he will get elected. No revolution is needed.

10 years are more than enough to enter or get out of a crisis of any kind.

What Pakistan needs is to keep on going after Nooras/Bhuttos and try to recover as much stolen money as possible.

These people are like cancer unremovable so must be controlled and consistently dominated.
 
This thread signifies the horror of misinformation in the society. People make decisions, judgements, etc over posts over social media rather than reading articles / opinion from reputable sources.

My honest suggestion is pick a source of information that is unbiased with good reputation. Even if you have to end up paying for that quality of journalism then please pay for that. A good piece of journalism should be the basis of how you look at events objectively. I literally pray that this sense is instilled in people because there is no hope for people who spread misinformation on social media, they are simply hopeless.
 
Lol, just stop it there before you make fool of yourself. The countries you mentioned are devoloped countries and even then many companies go bankrupt when contracts or projects are awarded unfairly due to corruption and that affects the society. Moreover for developing markets like Pakistan this is even more dangerous.
These companies make billions and nothing happens
Why do politicians get millions of dollars in speeches and why do they get "jobs" with million dollar paychecks when they don't even show up to work
And if you think this corruption was only happening when US was a devaloped nation nope
There's one from 1870s and another from guilded age

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.history.com/.amp/news/gilded-age-corruption-corporate-wealth

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cré...dal of,of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

And I give you hundreds of more links from corruption scandals in late 1700s to modern day

You ever heard of Tammany hall or how entire city councils were baught off
Hell politicions wouldn't get party tickets if they weren't in with the crooks

Ever played any US based game or something hell as recent as 50s why are characters paying cops of by giving them some dollars "for thier trouble"

These games were representative of the time period in which they were set in so corruption even at that small levels was normal

During 70s in NYC some precinct's and officers were getting "protection" money from drug dealers

From top to bottom everyone was corrupt but devalopmemt still happend and it didn't stop and is still happening

Know corruption is not a "good" thing but focusing our energies too much on eradicating it may cost us more than we will gain
 
Who is he?
I wanna describe him accurately but there is a realistic chance mods may ban me :D

Basically this man and his kin/party were against the very creation of Pakistan.

Mindset like his is one of the reasons why countries like ours are a 3rd world country and so many people suffer poverty, misery and all the pain that comes with living in a 3rd world country.

Imagine a Bollywood movie villain and let your imagination run wild... this dude is beyond that.
 
Who is he?

Maulana Fazlur Rahman. Founder and president of a political party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), where the F obviously stands for his name...

Supports anyone who offers him the best incentives. The ultimate opportunist. Tried "ending" the PTI govt. last year via an "azadi march" which was supported by all the opposition parties and cheered on by the media, including the secular media which was counting down the days until the end of the PTI govt. Didn't quite work out as planned, though. :91:
 
You just need to have 4-5 civilian government coming one after another. If institutions are strong then countries do well in long-term. If IK does a bad job then voters will not elect him again. If he does a good job then he will get elected. No revolution is needed.
IK should stay, I would take 50 years of his rule than of millitary rule, civilians need to stay in power for long periods of time cause long term solution is the best

I just wish he could stabilize the economy with atleast 4% to 5% growth rate than all else is good in my books
 
A revolution in the Pakistani context is basically a military coup.

It's been 13 years since the last army rule. Do Pakistani people really want another injection of short term economic growth with the underlying fundamentals going for a toss, and for said military leader to run out of fuel after his customary 5-7 years at the top?

No we don't but Nawaz and Zardari clan want the army. It gives them a chance to be labelled as shaheeds again. That's why they tried to provoke the army to the best of their ability before PTI came to power.
 
Maulana Fazlur Rahman. Founder and president of a political party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), where the F obviously stands for his name...

Supports anyone who offers him the best incentives. The ultimate opportunist. Tried "ending" the PTI govt. last year via an "azadi march" which was supported by all the opposition parties and cheered on by the media, including the secular media which was counting down the days until the end of the PTI govt. Didn't quite work out as planned, though. :91:
During the late Musharraf era he had meetings with US embassador to help him become the PM and only he can get the country out of trouble

Taliban were made in his Madrasas called taliban "jihadis" and blamed US for all the problems in the world 😁
 
Uncle Tom, IK has not failed, your politics of loot and plunder, worship of Billo James and Calibri Queen has failed. And the fact that you talk about the mafia is showing that you are now talking his language. The Kaptaan has changed you! Lol

Kaptaan cannot change me. People who think logically and use common sense can get fooled by con-artists once or twice, but eventually they learn to see through the act.

Kaptaan’s victims are vulnerable people like you who are easily swayed by political rhetoric, engage in hero worshipping and ignore all the evidence that challenges your blind faith.

These “mafias” are Kaptaan’s source of funding. A new mafia emerges every now and then and we find out that the key players of the mafia are financiers of Kaptaan, and then we are led to believe that he will take them down.

When the petrol shortage happened because the “oil mafia” held back supply, people like you thought that Imran would take them on and we will soon get the good news that the mafia has been destroyed.

Instead, Imran decided to bow down to the mafia and increase the prices. This is the record percentage increase in Pakistan history.

Imran would rather burden the poor instead of challenge the mafia. Is this your leader and the man who is supposed to usher the era of Naya Pakistan where the “mafias” are destroyed and the awaam is giving relief?
 
Maulana Fazlur Rahman. Founder and president of a political party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), where the F obviously stands for his name...

Supports anyone who offers him the best incentives. The ultimate opportunist. Tried "ending" the PTI govt. last year via an "azadi march" which was supported by all the opposition parties and cheered on by the media, including the secular media which was counting down the days until the end of the PTI govt. Didn't quite work out as planned, though. :91:

A day came... in history of humanity... for the first and probably only time ever... when bisexual-ultraliberal-feminist aunties walked side by side with ultra-right-wing Mullahs against a common threat.

What a circus. History me aisi koi aor misaal nahi hai aor shayad kabhi na ho.
 
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A very "Latin American" thought process.
dude exactly thats what I think we are like from the religious establishment and viva la revolución there's tons of similarities between us and latin America

I just hope China doesn't treat us like US treats Latin America
 
dude exactly thats what I think we are like from the religious establishment and viva la revolución there's tons of similarities between us and latin America

I just hope China doesn't treat us like US treats Latin America

My fav book 100 years of solitude , in that Marquez writes about it with a funny undertone. In one article the author describes the story as below:

The story, set in a time period of a century, explores many of the predominant issues in the region’s troubled history: caudillismo (the leadership of a ‘strongman’), machismo, rebellion, power, plagues, and political violence. But despite its dense social fabric, García Márquez unveils it with humour and in a refined, poetic language.
 
Imran has already failed. There is no ‘if’.

Poor guy had good intentions, but he inherited a mess, couldn’t find a good team, the public is stupid and his tongue is slippery.

On a serious note, he got carried away with political rhetoric and built unrealistic expectations. If you look at the promises that he made during his campaign, he has not been able to fulfill any of them.

Naya Pakistan is the greatest scam this country has ever seen. He has fooled the entire nation.

He has unleashed an assortment of incompetent, uneducated gutter-mouths on the nation under the pretext of tabdeeli.

He is also a beneficiary of the mafias and has completely destroyed our economy. The standard of living in the country has nosedived and it will only get worse in the future.

The opposition is quite and there are no dharnas, no protests, no boycotts etc. because they know that Imran is on the path to self-destruction.

His masters in GHQ will be forced to act eventually. There are already factions developing within the military who regret backing Imran.

Exactly. How much more can he Fail!

Despite all the dramay baziya, the PTI Tiger force is still busy with their blind following and worshiping. Coming up with the usual lame excuses of but “but abt Noora and Zardari getting 30-40 years”...

They fail to realise Imran Khan is the continuation of same corrupt Noora and Zardari politics. Just have quick glance at the faces of his ministers.
 
Kaptaan cannot change me. People who think logically and use common sense can get fooled by con-artists once or twice, but eventually they learn to see through the act.

Kaptaan’s victims are vulnerable people like you who are easily swayed by political rhetoric, engage in hero worshipping and ignore all the evidence that challenges your blind faith.

These “mafias” are Kaptaan’s source of funding. A new mafia emerges every now and then and we find out that the key players of the mafia are financiers of Kaptaan, and then we are led to believe that he will take them down.

When the petrol shortage happened because the “oil mafia” held back supply, people like you thought that Imran would take them on and we will soon get the good news that the mafia has been destroyed.

Instead, Imran decided to bow down to the mafia and increase the prices. This is the record percentage increase in Pakistan history.

Imran would rather burden the poor instead of challenge the mafia. Is this your leader and the man who is supposed to usher the era of Naya Pakistan where the “mafias” are destroyed and the awaam is giving relief?

You are not his target. You have made your bed with the criminals and any change will mean humiliation. Your like the old chacha who knows they are wrong, has no ideas of his own, not even one but sees any honest evaluation as a humiliation.
To tackle the mafias the Kaptaan needs the support of one of the biggest mafias and that is Judiciary, and there you have the problem which he faces. He needs a 2/3 majority to reform the Judiciary and if then the mafias still exist in PK he will be solely responsible. You want him to fix the destruction that people you support caused over decades, that is not only dishonest, intellectual lazy and impractical. It makes me think that you think the Kaptaan has a magic wand.
The poor are being robbed by mafias but when are you referring me to those reports on the Sugar shortages in 2008 and 13 and the petrol shortages in 15.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ur" dir="rtl">روزصبح خبر ملتی ہے، آج جارہا ہوں، کل جارہا ہوں، وزیراعظم عمران خان</p>— Geo News Urdu (@geonews_urdu) <a href="https://twitter.com/geonews_urdu/status/1277298455472373760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
No revolution happened when the previous government’s failed. So doubt anything will be different this time around.

Who is everybody? Its the same people who used to say he will not get elected and everything is hopeless. Shouldn’t failure be measured based on some sort of standards rather than “everybody”.
 
Don't think we should ever witness a bloody revolution. Next election he should step down and allow a new candidate to stand as leader
 
Khan might be an honest and a great human being who wants the best for the country, but the blind followers forget that the same Noon and PPP people they bash day in and out are with Khan at the moment. They have been part of the destruction over the past decades. This is where the major problem lies. All the lotas have been part of the loot maar. He started in 1996 to fight against the corruption and injustices and ended up shaking the same corrupt hands. Most people will never forget when Khan said to Sheikh Rasheed that he will never hire him as a chaprasi and guess what - the same unwanted chaprasi is in his cabinet. He was elected on the basis of bringing in change - well you can't bring in the change because of lotas you have surrounded yourself with. Its a scam.
 
I would have been happy if he had a brand new team to bring in tabdeeli. I would have given him full 5 years and then judged him but with the lotas - no chance.
 
Khan might be an honest and a great human being who wants the best for the country, but the blind followers forget that the same Noon and PPP people they bash day in and out are with Khan at the moment. They have been part of the destruction over the past decades. This is where the major problem lies. All the lotas have been part of the loot maar. He started in 1996 to fight against the corruption and injustices and ended up shaking the same corrupt hands. Most people will never forget when Khan said to Sheikh Rasheed that he will never hire him as a chaprasi and guess what - the same unwanted chaprasi is in his cabinet. He was elected on the basis of bringing in change - well you can't bring in the change because of lotas you have surrounded yourself with. Its a scam.

Its a no win situation. He was going no where with his original clean party officials with zero following and support. He eventually realized that fighting outside the system was pointless and that he had no choice but to join the system to get into power and then be in a position to make an impact
 
I would have been happy if he had a brand new team to bring in tabdeeli. I would have given him full 5 years and then judged him but with the lotas - no chance.

He tried that and he won zero seats. Then he tried that again he won one seat in his hometown of Mianwali.

So he needed the lotas to win in 2018. Thats reality of Pakistan.
 
Why would we need a revolution if Imran Khan fails? I don't understand this thread. Imran khan is no savior of Pakistan. His party is full of the same old people that had been in the government previously. We don't need to go back to Bhutto or Nawaz we need young people to step up into politics. The likes of Imran Khan are no different than Bhutto or Sharif's.

I'd like to take a few moments to mention a few things here that would open the eyes of the people to the reality of IK. We all know how he referred to Osama as Shaheed in the parliament the other day and we know previously he has been a supporter of Taliban as well as Al Qaeda. However, IK has also previously supported Baloch Liberation movements over the Pakistan Army. He has a track record of supporting terrorists and is basically a right-wing idiot (i.e. Pakistan's Donald Trump). (For the uninitiated go have a look at what he used to say regarding Musharraf's operation in Balochistan as well as how he testified for two Balochi terrorists in London who escaped Pakistan).

What I don't understand is how people see someone like him to be a good leader when from the beginning he's had his own interests over and above the interests of Pakistan. This is the same man who went out and asked people to stop paying taxes or utility bills, in a quest for civil disobedience. He's the one who went on record to say that if his party came to power it would not pay its debts to international donors which in turn led to the cancellation of the IMF delegation’s visit to Pakistan back in 2014.

His party and internet trolls are these days flaunting a message over social media about how they've repaid 5000 billion in loans and borrowed absolutely nothing from the state back which is a load of **. Fact of the matter is zero loans have been repaid. The figures being thrown around are of debt refinancing which means loan A pays out loan B. If you look at the reality of the situation our debt has increased (more than ever before) both notionally and as a % of GBP. Indeed, one thing the trolls get correct is that state back reverses have increases from 9.7 billion dollars to 12.3 billion in 22 months but that's via loans. They Rs.5.348 trillion from the state bank between 1st of July 2018 and 17th of May of which Rs 3.698 trillion was used to retire debts owed to commercial banks.

The above is an example of how his party and their followers spread misinformation. Let's also not forget the absence of promises that were part of his manifesto. Whatever happened to South Punjab? Where is the local body governing system in Punjab?

Don't look at IK as some savior. He's in it for himself.
 
Its a no win situation. He was going no where with his original clean party officials with zero following and support. He eventually realized that fighting outside the system was pointless and that he had no choice but to join the system to get into power and then be in a position to make an impact

Its a double edged sword.

You can become a king but deep down, there will be king makers who will use you as a puppet.
 
Khan might be an honest and a great human being who wants the best for the country, but the blind followers forget that the same Noon and PPP people they bash day in and out are with Khan at the moment. They have been part of the destruction over the past decades. This is where the major problem lies. All the lotas have been part of the loot maar. He started in 1996 to fight against the corruption and injustices and ended up shaking the same corrupt hands. Most people will never forget when Khan said to Sheikh Rasheed that he will never hire him as a chaprasi and guess what - the same unwanted chaprasi is in his cabinet. He was elected on the basis of bringing in change - well you can't bring in the change because of lotas you have surrounded yourself with. Its a scam.

Unfortunately we have been here before. So called ‘electables’ climbed onto the platforms of the Muslim League in the 1940s and the PPP in the 1970s. In both cases, the result was increased factionalism and the blunting of progressive designs. The Progressive Bloc deserted the ML after partition. Mian Iftikharuddin dramatically quit as refugee minister in 1948 citing the obstructive stance of landed interests to meaningful land reforms.

Similarly before the 1970 elections, debate raged as to whether the gentry should be courted by the PPP. Those gathered around Sheikh Muhammad Rashid were acutely aware that the PPP's radicalism could be subverted from within if it opened its doors to the fickle notables and therefore proposed restrictions on their entry. On the other hand, the high command (‘central cell’) of the PPP was ready to welcome gentry politicians into its ranks. Crucially they had the support of Bhutto. The eventual entry of political careerists into its ranks was fatal for the prospect of the PPP pursuing radical social change.

Within PTI a similar tension existed with the old guard attempting to resist the capture of the party by the professional politicians. Imran Khan, advancing in years and desperate to be Prime Minister, was not willing to take any risks and welcomed notables onto the PTI bandwagon. “One man alone without an electable team can only do so much” he said. He could not “find angels to join the PTI.” It is not just votes that such figures bring but also crucially funding.

Does this mean that a party need only seek the support of ‘electables’ to be sure of victory? I don’t believe so.

First, it is facile to believe that leaders only lead a herd. In fact they are also subject to pressures and voters are not passive bystanders. Even as far back as the run-up to the 1946 elections, according to historian Ian Talbot in his book, Freedom’s Cry, “The growing groundswell of support for the League pressurized its Muslim landlord opponents to desert the Unionist Party.” In the 1970 elections, we would do well to remember that while many landed notables joined from Sindh, in the Punjab, they joined only after the 1970 elections. The exceptions were Sadiq Hussain Qureshi and Chadhury Fazal Elahi, both of whom joined just before the 1970 elections. In the case of Qureshi popular support for the PPP seems to have swayed him.

Secondly, ideology is not irrelevant. Phillip Jones, in his comprehensive work on the rise of the PPP, meticulously examined the 1970 election results in the Punjab, managing to drill down to the level of polling stations. Local ties certainly mattered, but he also pointed clearly to “the ‘horizontal’ character of the pro-PPP vote patterns in the 1970 elections…the PPP vote largely represented a rejection of traditional (parochial or vertical) loyalties in reference for perceived economic and social interests, as articulated in the PPP programme.”

His conclusion based on solid research was: “in fifty-four (or 65.9 per cent) of eighty-two NA constituencies in Punjab, majorities or near-majorities rejected parochial considerations and voted for a party that promised to break open elite institutions and to broaden access to education, medical care, commercial enterprise, industrial management, land ownership and political decision-making.”
 
Awesome post @KB as usual , would be interesting to know more about horizontal and vertical identities in politics as such as I think 1970's was the only time when the generation around the world rejected their vertical loyalties in much higher numbers.

Came across it first time in " Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity" , unfortunately couldn't force myself to finish the book.
 
Unfortunately we have been here before. So called ‘electables’ climbed onto the platforms of the Muslim League in the 1940s and the PPP in the 1970s. In both cases, the result was increased factionalism and the blunting of progressive designs. The Progressive Bloc deserted the ML after partition. Mian Iftikharuddin dramatically quit as refugee minister in 1948 citing the obstructive stance of landed interests to meaningful land reforms.

Similarly before the 1970 elections, debate raged as to whether the gentry should be courted by the PPP. Those gathered around Sheikh Muhammad Rashid were acutely aware that the PPP's radicalism could be subverted from within if it opened its doors to the fickle notables and therefore proposed restrictions on their entry. On the other hand, the high command (‘central cell’) of the PPP was ready to welcome gentry politicians into its ranks. Crucially they had the support of Bhutto. The eventual entry of political careerists into its ranks was fatal for the prospect of the PPP pursuing radical social change.

Within PTI a similar tension existed with the old guard attempting to resist the capture of the party by the professional politicians. Imran Khan, advancing in years and desperate to be Prime Minister, was not willing to take any risks and welcomed notables onto the PTI bandwagon. “One man alone without an electable team can only do so much” he said. He could not “find angels to join the PTI.” It is not just votes that such figures bring but also crucially funding.

Does this mean that a party need only seek the support of ‘electables’ to be sure of victory? I don’t believe so.

First, it is facile to believe that leaders only lead a herd. In fact they are also subject to pressures and voters are not passive bystanders. Even as far back as the run-up to the 1946 elections, according to historian Ian Talbot in his book, Freedom’s Cry, “The growing groundswell of support for the League pressurized its Muslim landlord opponents to desert the Unionist Party.” In the 1970 elections, we would do well to remember that while many landed notables joined from Sindh, in the Punjab, they joined only after the 1970 elections. The exceptions were Sadiq Hussain Qureshi and Chadhury Fazal Elahi, both of whom joined just before the 1970 elections. In the case of Qureshi popular support for the PPP seems to have swayed him.

Secondly, ideology is not irrelevant. Phillip Jones, in his comprehensive work on the rise of the PPP, meticulously examined the 1970 election results in the Punjab, managing to drill down to the level of polling stations. Local ties certainly mattered, but he also pointed clearly to “the ‘horizontal’ character of the pro-PPP vote patterns in the 1970 elections…the PPP vote largely represented a rejection of traditional (parochial or vertical) loyalties in reference for perceived economic and social interests, as articulated in the PPP programme.”

His conclusion based on solid research was: “in fifty-four (or 65.9 per cent) of eighty-two NA constituencies in Punjab, majorities or near-majorities rejected parochial considerations and voted for a party that promised to break open elite institutions and to broaden access to education, medical care, commercial enterprise, industrial management, land ownership and political decision-making.”

Since he won, his strategy was justified. Its easy to tell someone else to take risks, however he worked so hard for so many years that he did not want to waste his 20 years on the off chance that Pakistani people in rural areas would be willing to vote for non electables. In fact he should increase the number of electables so he can win in Interior Sindh by giving the second biggest wadera a PTI ticket in every constituency.
 
The jury is still out on Imran Khan but I think there’s some course correction in order. I don’t think he has over-promised. Granted he has a thin majority and leads a disparate coalition that prevents him from implementing all that he’s promised, Imran Khan should really study the AKP model in Turkey and the way they have 1) transformed Turkey into an economic and technological powerhouse in such a short time and 2.) destroyed the old order.

Pakistan has immense potential but this potential will not be realized as long as Pakistan keeps recycling old failed politicians and mindsets that have caused the mess Pakistan already is. There’s a need to think big and anew. Imran Khan still has the opportunity to free his nation from the shackles of the past and forge a new path for his people.
 
Pakistanis can never bring about a revolution. They don’t have it in them. Bitter truth but it is what it is. One whip from the army chief and they will fall in line like good boys. :ba
 
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