**My Leader, What Is Our Fault After All?**
Imran Khan’s Misguided Leadership: A Nation Paying the Price for Political Immaturity
When a poet is truly insightful, their verses often carry foresight and predictions that even the creators of “The Simpsons” could not match. Interestingly, the significance of such verses is often not even realized by the poet themselves. One of my own couplets, found in my poetry collection *Mazahimat Karein Ge Hum* (“We Shall Resist”), came to me at a time when General Bajwa and Imran Khan were arm-in-arm, sending a message to the nation that finally, the civilian government and the establishment were on the same page. I thought to myself, they were uncontrollable on their own, now that they’ve joined forces, what will happen? Perhaps in this very confusion, the following verse came to me, which I now share with you:
*”Now that my rulers are on the same page,
May God be your protector, my rulers.”*
Since that day, as time passed, Pakistan continued to plunge into new crises. If one asks Imran Khan now, how can he tirelessly blame the very establishment that carried him to power on its shoulders? If he was such a great leader, why couldn’t he accurately assess the political situation then, or later realize when preparations were underway to oust him? According to him, his “waves of public tsunamis” would take to the streets at his beck and call, which indeed happened. However, for the past two years, these poor, weak, and impoverished tsunamis have been mercilessly beaten down due to your flawed strategies and poor planning.
It has reached the point where you have mostly chosen dates for political unrest in the country that coincide with some international event in Pakistan. To you, it seems like a constructive and positive move to send the world the message that Pakistan is in a state of political crisis. Your entire focus is on regaining power, regardless of what happens to the country. The same power you gained with General Bajwa’s support and lost with his help.
Since you lost power, up until now, you have repeatedly brought the public out onto the streets, only to have them beaten down, yet you have not achieved a single tangible result. This is because you have no ideology and no political strategy. Perhaps even people like me might have been fooled by your “Islamic touch” rhetoric, but we know how many people in your party genuinely follow the path of religion or how much ideological and religious training you have given your workers. Over the past twenty-six years before coming to power, and the five years since then, you have done nothing but deliver speeches. Your followers know nothing except how to hurl insults.
Aside from this, the only thing to your credit is the health card initiative, which was launched to cover up the inability to build public hospitals, favoring corporate insurance instead. While this was still a good step, providing insurance instead of building hospitals is akin to giving handouts rather than creating jobs.
You must abandon the despicable act of risking human lives by staging rallies and protests. So far, you have failed to achieve any meaningful outcome from this approach. By devaluing the power of the people, you have taken it upon yourself to disappoint the oppressed masses around the world who look to revolutions for hope. For this, you will have to answer to history. Whether a young PTI supporter or a soldier on duty to maintain law and order loses their life, the funerals come from Pakistani households on both sides.
You have shown the entire world that you possess neither an understanding of ideology nor any political acumen. But do tell us why the public should suffer because of your political immaturity? Throughout your political career, you have disregarded those who stood by your side from the beginning and filled the party ranks with the same opportunists and seasonal defectors you once opposed. Such brazen behavior is rarely seen. Do you even realize how many Pakistani families have paid the price for your aimless and directionless politics?
Your rallies and demonstrations disrupt businesses and halt transportation. The roads are blocked with containers, and minds are filled with anxieties. The internet shutdowns further paralyze life, yet nothing is achieved. If even a one-percent improvement had resulted by now, we might have at least clung to some hope. From dissolving assemblies and stepping down from the government to this very day, every step you have taken has been futile.
Captain, have mercy on this suffering country and its people, and let us live.
