A Question for the Opposition? | Faiziyat by Bahrullah Afridi

A Question for the Opposition?

By: Bahrullah Afridi

I raised this question some time ago, but I believe its significance has increased even more now. Like the opposition, I too believe that Imran Khan is an incompetent, illegitimate, incapable, fake, selected, and puppet Prime Minister. Imran Khan has backtracked on all the promises and slogans he once made. This clearly shows that if Imran Khan had even a little foresight, seriousness, or understanding of how to bear the burden of governance, he would never have made such lofty promises. Or perhaps it means that Imran Khan, like his predecessors, deliberately manipulated the emotions of the Pakistani people.

Now that he himself admits, "It took us two years just to understand the matters," what could be a greater proof of his incompetence? Even then, most PTI workers still live in hope — hope that some miracle will happen and things will suddenly get better — even though they know that Imran Khan’s cabinet was filled with turncoats from various parties, many of whom still face corruption charges.

On the other hand, the opposition’s politics revolves entirely around exaggerating these very weaknesses of Imran Khan. Through this strategy, they have been quite successful in gaining public support. Everyone is aware that inflation, unemployment, and poverty have reached record levels. External debt has ballooned. Prices of essential items have risen by 100% to 500%. Law and order is deteriorating.

Opposition leaders repeatedly point to these issues and demand Imran Khan’s resignation on these grounds. But my question is this: Will Pakistan’s problems end with Imran Khan’s resignation?

In my view, the answer is no — because the root cause of all these problems is Pakistan’s economic situation, and the opposition has shown no real plan to address it so far.

Is there anyone in the opposition who can offer a formula to pull Pakistan out of this economic crisis? If the opposition is truly sincere with the people of Pakistan, then their first step should be to present a comprehensive and actionable economic plan. Only after that should they demand Imran Khan’s resignation.

Let’s assume that Imran Khan resigns and the opposition takes over. What will they do to repay the country’s loans or to control inflation? Will they also blame the previous government like Imran Khan did, claiming the mess was inherited?

Imran Khan did two major things in the name of fixing the economy:

1. He took more loans.
2. He unleashed a storm of inflation.

Instead of improving the situation, he further ruined the country.

Now, if this cycle is repeated — if the opposition follows the same path (and I believe they will, because they too have no plan and will simply shift all the blame onto Imran Khan) — then the result could be disastrous. Pakistan may end up bankrupt and possibly face civil unrest. This is exactly the kind of scenario institutions like the IMF and World Bank often wait years to see unfold. God forbid Pakistan reaches such a point.

But the only way to prevent this is for the opposition to immediately start working on a comprehensive and workable economic recovery plan. They must sit down with top-tier economists, formulate a solid economic roadmap, and present it to the public. Only then would a demand for Imran Khan’s resignation make sense, and the public would have a reason to trust the opposition.

If, however, the opposition continues to only highlight Imran Khan’s weaknesses without showing any genuine interest in creating a solution, then this means they too are not sincere with the Pakistani people. It would mean they are simply trying to gain power so they can cover up their past crimes and corruption — because they’ve never really achieved anything meaningful in the past either.

And if Imran Khan, despite all his slogans and promises, failed economically — then the opposition certainly does not possess a magic lamp that will fix everything overnight.

In conclusion, if there are people within our national security institutions who truly care about this country, they must act before things spiral out of control. Based on Islamic principles, all prejudice and oppression must be eradicated. The country must be freed from the grip of corrupt, greedy, and treacherous elements — only then can Pakistan be placed on a clear and successful path.

Note: This article was originally written in Urdu and was first published in Daily Shahbaz, Peshawar, on 28th February 2021.

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Faiziyat, Bahrullah Afridi, Pakistani Politics, Imran Khan, Opposition, Economic Crisis, Daily Shahbaz, PTI, Public Opinion, National Security