Imran Khan- Pervez Khattak Spat Through the Lens of Pakistani Politics

 

Pakistani Rulers  - How do they behave with their ministers, party workers, and commoners!

As usual, Pakistani media is abuzz with the news of a hot exchange of words between the PM and the Defence Minister. According to the grapevine, during a meeting, Pervez Khattak embroiled with Hammad Azhar, the Energy Minister, over non-compliance with Khattak’s long-standing demand for new gas connections to his constituency in KPK. 

During the heated argument, Khattak also sniped at the PM, taunting the latter that he owed his premiership to Khattak’s vote bank. Reportedly, Khattak left the meeting in a huff after Imran Khan snapped back that he was prepared to step down if people like Khattak were not satisfied with his policies.

For the last many years, Pakistan is facing extreme natural gas shortage due to the depletion of the local gas reserves and ill-planned energy policies of the previous governments where, despite the gas shortage, new connections were sanctioned to please the constituencies of a large number of party members.

 As if it were not enough, road transport was switched from oil to natural gas, resulting in the sprouting up of thousands of gas stations. To meet the huge demand for gas during the winters, the already cash-strapped government had to import liquefied natural gas from Qatar and elsewhere, spending a large amount of foreign exchange.

For the people not used to this type of behavior, the quarrel between IK and Khattak is something unimaginable in the culture of Pakistani politics. The local media, always fishing for some sizzling news, was quick to blow the quarrel into a scandal. 

Predictions were galore that the incident signified the beginning of the end for Imran Khan, that the government, already on a very weak wicket, was going to collapse very soon. Perhaps this is how the Pakistani mindset, deeply under the influence of the tribal and feudal cultures, interprets something that, in a civilized and educated society, would be dismissed as nothing more than a difference of opinion. You cannot blame them for this type of reaction. They are used to it a different type of handling by the Pakistani rulers.

Sometime back, I had written: 

What is democracy in the context of Pakistan? There are a few political dynasties ruling the roost. These dynasties control the political parties where there are no internal elections and an inner circle makes all the important appointments. The parties are run like fiefs and the electorate is hoodwinked through false promises and catchy slogans.  

A prominent journalist who was once elected to the national assembly on PMLN ticket, and is now on the panel of a TV talk show, described how the party members behaved in the presence of Nawaz Sharif. He said that, during the meetings, whenever a party member would address Nawaz Sharif, he would get up, fold his hands, and start his petition with the preamble “Quaid e Mohtaram”.

The same journalist, who was in the PPP before joining PMLN, wrote an article in the Dawn newspaper about his experience with Benazir Bhutto. When Benazir was in the political wilderness during the Zia rule, tells this journalist, he invited BB for dinner at his house in Islamabad. The purpose was to arrange a meeting between BB and the local party workers. “When her teeth were in the third ice cream, I asked her if she would be kind enough to spare a few minutes for the party workers?” he writes. “ BB gave me a look as if she would kill me”, (or words to the effect). While departing from the host's house, BB condescendingly told the journalist that whatever party work he was doing was his duty as a jiala, and that he was not doing any favour to the party.

Shehbaz Sharif's daughter once entered a  Lahore cantonment bakery at the closing time and wanted to purchase certain bakery items. When the bakery staff told her that they could not sell anything after the closing time, her husband and guards beat up the bakery staff.  The incident was reported in the media. Shehbaz Sharif, true to his reputation, enacted a put-up show by having his son-in-law kept in the police lockup for the night. Shehbaz Sharif's arrogance was legendary. He would quite often visit a government department with the sole purpose of putting on the mat some govt functionary who had, in some way, ruffled the "Punjab Speed".

A PIA pilot who lived in a flat in the same building where I used to live after my retirement, told me BB was so arrogant as PM that, whenever she traveled by PIA, the cabin crew was not allowed to speak in a loud voice.  During the flight, she always carried a microphone with which she would constantly berate the crew. Once, when the pilot made a rough landing, she picked up the mic and yelled at the pilot, saying “ next time you make such a landing, you will land forever”.

The same BB, while accompanying Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, her Minister for Fuel and Petroleum,  in a truck convoy during a political procession, insulted him in front of others when, as Bijarani spoke, a faint droplet of spit from his mouth fell on her face.

According to the Dawn newspaper (February 2, 2013)

Jalaluddin Abdur Rahim was a Bengali socialist, thinker, and one of the founding fathers of the Pakistan People’s Party. Educated in political science and philosophy, he began his career as a foreign secretary in Mohammed Ali Bogra’s government. He became a member of the Communist Party but joined Bhutto in 1965. When Bhutto convened a convention for forming a political party on November 30, 1967, J.A. Rahim authored the PPP’s constitution and was appointed the party’s first secretary-general. After the formation of the PPP government in 1972, Rahim was appointed minister for defence production — a position he retained till his ouster in 1974.

On July 2, 1974, Bhutto had arranged a dinner for the cabinet ministers and close aides. Though the invitation card asked the guests to be there by 8pm, Bhutto did not appear till 11pm. As the clock struck midnight Rahim felt tired and humiliated. Considerably annoyed, Rahim rose and looking at the waiting ‘courtiers’ said that they could wait for the ‘Larkana Maharaja’ but he was leaving.

While he was asleep at home, at around 1.0am, the FSF men led by the chief of the prime minister’s security officers banged at his gate. They beat him mercilessly and took the bleeding minister to the police station in a jeep. His release was later secured by Rafi Raza, Bhutto’s special assistant. He was flown to Karachi from where he flew to Europe.

For the people, used to this type of behavior, the quarrel between IK and Khattak is something unimaginable in the culture of Pakistani politics. 

Saleem Akhtar Malik

14  January 2022

The author is a Pakistan Army veteran who regularly writes on national and international affairs, defence, military history, and military technology. His talks on these subjects are aired on his YouTube Channel "The Observation Post". His blog "Sam1953.blogspot.com" features his articles.