Imran Khan is on the right track
The Pakistan prime minister is a compassionate leader who feels the pain of the poor
On November 6, 2018, a photograph appeared on Twitter timelines of Pakistan. It was the image of a tired-looking man and his three little children, huddled under an old blanket, sleeping on the road, their backs resting against a yellow and black road divider. There was a red-haired, raggedy doll lying at the edge of the sheet on which all of them slept, tightly curled into one another. Around them was the merchandise of the man, probably a street hawker: Baskets made of wicker and a few colourful plastic bicycles. The picture was taken by some concerned citizen as the family of four slept on the side of a road in one of the most affluent areas of Lahore. Twitter in Pakistan erupted into a wave of sympathy and compassion.
Three days later, another set of photos appeared in which a kind restaurant-owner had taken the family for shopping and food. He is also said to have enrolled the three children in a school. I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I had seen in ages.
And as I believe there is no power like that of positivity of humanity in a world marked with cruelty and apathy, there appeared another tweet on November 10 in which the photo of the man, his three children and his meagre wares were re-posted. This time, the tweet was from Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan: “Today I laid the foundation for 1st of 5 shelters for the homeless in Lahore & one in Pindi to be followed by shelters in other cities. We are committed to building a social net for our poor citizens so everyone has a shelter over his/her head & access to health & education.”
Power of humanity, empathy, compassion, awareness of responsibility and the quick response of government to the pain of citizens, that is the essence of this one act of the prime minister. This same empathy and the desire to do something tangible for the voiceless, nameless and faceless Pakistanis had led Imran to the establishment of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital — the firstever cancer hospital in Pakistan, built in Imran’s mother’s name, for those who couldn’t afford the exorbitant expense of cancer treatment. Imran, the cricketer, became Khan the philanthropist, and that philanthropist became the politician who always had a profound awareness of the inequality and unfairness of a corruption-ridden Pakistan where financial realities created walls and divisions of who lived amid luxury and whose three children huddled under one blanket on a dark, cold November night.
The Imran Khan Government, as per its 100day agenda, focused on revitalisation of Pakistan’s economic growth, is working on establishment, improvement and strengthening of various fields: Creation of jobs for young Pakistanis; revival of manufacturing and facilitation of rapid growth of small and medium enterprises; policy framework to build five million houses for people of low-income backgrounds; enhancement of tourism; tax reforms; creation of a businessfriendly environment; transformation of key institutions; solutions to energy challenges; augmentation of access to finance; and guarantee of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as the business game-changer in the region.
Focused and future-based
Imran’s idea of a strong Pakistan is that of a proactive government and not that of a reactive one, reliant on making, remaking, shuffling and readjusting of policies. It is not easy, it is not flawless, it is not without errors of judgement and lack of experience in certain matters, but it is on the right track: Focused, future-based and aimed at the betterment of the nation — domestically and otherwise.
The major difference, in my opinion, between Imran — despite all his flaws, idealism that is mocked at and occasional missteps — and most other former rulers of Pakistan is that Imran’s government is not working on a self-serving agenda of accumulation of unaccounted wealth, unchecked power and imperviousness to accountability. While appearing self-absorbed to the naysayers and critics, Imran as the prime minister is exactly the opposite of that. All his attention is focused on making Pakistan a solid, fair, vibrant, dynamic and a prosperous country that is for all who call it home.
And that Imran Khan, while serving the country as its prime minister, notices the misery and pain of even that one man and his three children sleeping huddled in an old blanket on the side of a road on a dark, cold November night.