Should PTI target Local Bodies Members?

After the unforgivable blunders committed on the Swat issue whereby the party leadership was happily arguing in favor of PCO II - i.e. "Nizam-e-Adl" which also came via the barrel of the gun - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Chairman Khan have an opportunity to redeem themselves and fill the vacuum intentionally and rather criminally created by the two mainstream parties, the PPP and PML-N.

PTI has done substantial work in trying to build grassroots support in the dozen or so major districts of Pakistan. However, there are over 124 districts in the country. Reaching them with the current resource constraints and pace will take several years. Rather than wasting time calling for national mid-term elections when the party has not even had any of its internal party elections much less presence in most of the districts of Pakistan, innovative ways to reach the grassroots should be entertained and applied.

One such way, found discussed in drawing rooms at least, is to team up with the members of the local bodies - many of whom are associated with the PML-Q. These local bodies members have over 8 years of experience at the grassroot levels. They have dealt with the daily problems of their constituents and were compelled to at least give attention to them if not offer solutions. They now find themselves ostracized by the new government. But this doesn't mean these 'grassroot politicians' will simply disappear. PTI could integrate them into its fold. This would give PTI immediate access to nearly all the districts of the country. Plus, the 'administrative' web the PPP and the PML-N want to weave will result in failure as no civil servant running the districts would be willing to spend even 1/100th the time listening to the farmers and laborers that a local councillor had to give his attention to. The hara-kiri that the PPP and PML-N want to commit offers PTI a chance to embrace the members of the local bodies into the party and enter into a win-win alliance. The 'administrators' will naturally fail and the local bodies members, despite being 'tarnished' by Musharaf, would easily be seen as both accessible and preferable than the 'babus' (bureaucrats).

The Pakistan media and the people at large have tasted the benefits of the local bodies system. The media has unanimously supported the local bodies. Everyone I have spoken to in my UC and friends from other districts support the local bodies system as it gives them direct access to their representatives who don't sit in Lahore or Islamabad, but are right next door.

Chairman Khan has often said that the role of MPA's and MNA's in a parliamentary system is not to build toilets or build roads (when Ayaz Amir became an MPA in 1997, he wrote he was allocated 150 commodes to distribute to his constituents). MPA's and MNA's are part of the legislative branch and should have very little to do with development funds. Too much power into the hands of MPA's and MNA's is creating grounds for corruption. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. While there are no statistics to show that local bodies are 'less corrupt', it is rather difficult to make grandscale kickbacks at the union council level with 2 lacs budget allocations than you can with 2 crores at the provincial levels.

PTI has done the right thing by calling for local bodies elections and should take it up with the same motivation it took up the movement to restore the judiciary. The party would be supporting a proven system - despite some of its flaws which could be improved - that in letter and spirit was a force of decentralization and handed power to the towns, alleys and mohallahs of the nation.

In any case, this blog is meant to guage whether PTI should invite and entice all the local bodies members into the party fold. They are tried and tested politicians who could give the party direct access across the districts of Pakistan in one fell swoop. On the other hand they are former allies of Musharaf. It's a dilemma but one worth entertaining.

[published as blog on www.insaf.pk]

From policeman to insanity

I stood on the pedestrian bridge just outside the shrine of Hazrat Data Gunj Bux holding my camera waiting with my friend for the arrival of Chairman Khan who was going to sign up new entrants to the party in the camp just below us as part of the two week membership drive of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Lahore. In the distance I could make out two minarets of the Badshahi mosque but the dust-filled haze of the noon atmosphere wiped the visibility of Minar-e-Pakistan.

I do not have a professional camera, but I have always felt the depth of history, culture, and human spirit in the areas of 'undroon' Lahore. The richness of this area unleashes equally rich emotions - creative, sorrowful, jubilant - a comprehensive kaleidoscope.

On that day I met a gentleman clothed in decades old rags wandering back and forth aimlessly across the bridge. He had a large unkempt beard and teeth with traces of dark horizontal lines running across them. Despite his unimpressive appearance, he remained in a consistently joyous and kind-hearted mood. In the center of the bridge he kept his belongings tied in a large dark green bed sheet. The value of the items must not have been significant for he would often wander down the stairs and randomly greet anyone passing by in the street below with a beaming smile for lengthy periods of time.

As I was taking pictures of some of the billboards of the area, he came up to me and asked to take his picture. He made some comments which I couldn't understand but I nodded in any case.

Then he said that he's not had a decent meal for a long time.

I said I was surprised at his comments as Data Sahib never lets anyone go hungry. He stated that the food from the shrine gives him an upset stomach and causes indigestion so he prefers better quality food.

Despite my reluctance to be convinced of his difficulties due to his dietary habits, he remained cheerful and did not stoop to begging.




I took a closer look at his name tag which happened to be a policeman's ID card. His name was Sarwar and it seemed he had an interesting story to tell about a journey from being a policeman and rising in the ranks to that of insanity. But before I could ask, Chairman Khan arrived with loud cheers and I rushed for the stairs leaving the ex-policeman contentedly stooping over the bridge to catch a glimpse of the national hero.

Imran Khan appeals for Sasta Tandoor Project