By Owais Hadi:
Youth participation plays a significant role in any country’s growth and development and Pakistan has more than 60% of its population under the classification of youth. Recently, some youth sections have been seen following some political sections who say they would bring change but in my opinion, they are those who do not favour change, as for bringing change they first need to change themselves which might hurt their own interests. It will hurt the interests of those who are political opportunists, who want to extend their political careers, even at the expense of Pakistan’s sovereignty and treasury.
It’s unfortunate that in our nation ‘Pakistan’, expectations are being made from political go-getters just because those opportunists are a part of a new emerging political party “Pakistan Tehreek Insaf” (PTI). It is giving shelter to all such politicians just because it is being led by cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan who won the cricket world cup for Pakistan and is famous for doing charitable work i.e. Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital.
Doing charitable work is respectful but at the same time one must remember that politics and charity can never be intertwined with each other. Politics is the art of working with millions of different people with different interests for bringing betterment while charitable work is the work that is done with the aid of millions of people who have the same interests of helping the society.
With the recent success of PTI, we come to know many political opportunists who are being sheltered by PTI, at the reputation of Imran Khan and not their own performance. One of them is an ex Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Jehangir Khan Tareen. He is one of those leaders who were a part of the sugar hoarding crises of 2006 and is allegedly accused of earning huge profits as JDW Sugar Mills and United Sugar Mills owned by him, stocked more than 45 per cent of their total sugar stocks in order to earn huge profits at the expense of the well being of the nation, for which Tareen is too much concerned nowadays.
Moving on, another political opportunist who is not only himself being sheltered by PTI but his alleged illegal grabbed land of Punjab University is also being protected at the expense of the poor employees who can earn from the land is Mian Mahmood ur Rasheed. Having a key post in PTI, he allegedly holds twenty acres of Land belonging to Punjab University. He and his practices are being protected by Imran Khan, who even after being informed about the land grabbing couldn’t get that land vacated.
Nawabzada Aurangzeb Hoti, a leader from Khyber Pakhtun Khwa (KPK) is another politician whom I think has been rewarded by Khan to become a member of PTI. He is allegedly been involved in smuggling drugs case to USA. As per reports, he was even jailed for three years in United States, in the same case.
In his efforts to gather political space, Khan has also forgotten Dr. Aafia Siddiqui; a Pakistani scientist under U.S custody since more than a decade. By allowing Khurshid Kasuri, an ex- foreign minister to be an important leader of PTI, Khan has either forgiven the former or rewarded him for not protesting against the handling over of Dr Aafia Siddiqui over to U.S authorities, which took place during the period Kasuri was the Foreign Minister of Pakistan. And here, remember that Mr Khan is an advocate of the freedom of Mrs. Siddiqui.
There is a severe contradiction between Imran Khan’s ‘acts’ and his so called ‘plans’. He says that he would bring an end to feudalism, but at the same time he has brought feudals like Leghari brothers (former member of PMLQ) into his political party. If he’s willing to end feudalism then why he doesn’t ask the Leghari brothers to distribute at least small part of their ownership of thousands of acres of agriculture land to the impoverished farmers of Dera Ghazi Khan?
I have discussed a few discrepancies between Imran Khan’s ideas and practices and now it’s for you to decide that how change for a better Pakistan can be brought by a political party which is reluctant to change its own self first as “charity begins at home”.