The political system of Pakistan is based on the elected form of administration. This project aims to understand the ideological process and project of creating a New Pakistan (Naya Pakistan), and how this project influences the way Imran Khan shapes the political reality during his speeches. This whole research is based on the current political situation of Pakistan which is revolving around primarily two political parties which are PMLN (Pakistan Muslim League N) and PTI (Pakistan Tehreek- e -Insaaf). We will discuss why opposition political parties ousted prime minister Imran Khan in a confidence vote and the reaction of the former prime minister as well as his followers on the formation of the new government. Further, we will also distinguish between the narratives of Naya (new) and Purana (Old) Pakistan and apply game theory to study how politicians use different tactics to manipulate the public.
The study was conducted by Naya and Purana Pakistan to analyze how it works for the betterment of our country, at the same time there is a lot of misconceptions emerged at its peak. An ethical climate is important for performing citizenship behaviors because it is necessary in Politics world as you, maybe encounter different kinds of behaviors. There are some challenges that obviously depend on Pakistani individuals to make a set of principles that a person or society finds desirable and help define right or wrong. Putting ethics and politics together is the right move intellectually but it also needed to acknowledge various kinds of methods performing in society and dealing with opposite political parties. Also discussed in detail the interplay of government and citizens faces major issues and waiting desperately for upcoming elections. The conflicts remain unresolved in the current situation as everyone has different perspectives, and no one agrees at one point. With the help of theoretical framework and theories apply in this research to conduct a well- understanding that identifies basic aspects to have a broad overview of this study.
Since the inception of Pakistan in 1947 Pakistan run according to military rule. With the presidential elections in 2018, a peaceful transition from military rule toward democracy took place. In 2010, the Constitution of Pakistan was amended. Among other things, it strengthens the position of the Prime Minister, right to education was also a part of it. However military still has a great impact on Pakistan’s foreign and security policies.
Constitution was again amended in May 2018, major purpose behind that was to make federally administered tribal areas (FATA) part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In 2018 Imran Khan and his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)won the parliamentary election. PTI has always had a vision of “NAYA PAKISTAN” (New Pakistan), a society that is according to the Sunnah of Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H), a system of law and justice, where every citizen enjoys equal opportunities in every field of life without any discrimination of race, gender, region or religion. After becoming the 22nd Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Imran Khan in his speech made a number of tall promises, ignoring some crucial aspects. Where his promises gave hope to the people, and also leaves a comment about the priorities of the new government.
First of all, he promised to make the state corruption free, not to take aid from international bodies or from other countries, provide employment, improve the educational sector, particularly in rural areas, provide interest-free loans, plant billion of trees to combat global warming, ensure women rights, promote tourism, improve transport infrastructure and many more. But he ignored religious minorities and Kashmir issue in his debate.
Imran Khan visited other countries to ensure that Pakistan is business-friendly. The new government launched a coordinated strategy with departments of other governments to combat the negative effects of climatic and environmental changes, and also encouraged youth to play a significant role in Pakistan’s green and clean ( Five things Imran khan has done to improve Pakistan| CPIC glibal,2018). His biggest challenge was to manage the expectations of people, particularly his followers and voters. Khan’s mission is to transform Pakistan into a welfare state “Rayasat-e- Madinah” but unfortunately, Imran Khan has not completely fulfilled his promises. The roots of all problems lie in the formation of an inexpert cabinet. His cabinet included unselected people, as they did not know how to run the state. Khan promised tax reforms but in reality, he has not undertaken any tax reform instead started taking taxes from tax-free zones. Pakistan’s export has increased by 25% and import increased by 65% during economic fluctuations which rank Pakistan as the third largest inflation country among the major economies of the world. Unemployment still exists, about 60 lakh people are unemployed which means an increase in poverty. Pakistan is facing its worst economic condition for the 2nd time in history (after 81% GDP during the general Musharraf era) ( Miftah, 2022).
He also promised to improve educational infrastructure and brought some changes in this regard. Came up with Single National Curriculum (SNC) but still, about 50% of the children are out of school. The question here is that what has Imran Khan done about it? He also promised to improve healthcare infrastructure but during his government, prices of pharmaceutical drugs increased by 300% and stopped giving free medicines in Punjab (scheme of PMLN). Although he issued health cards in Punjab and KPK. This was also a poorly designed scheme because the government funded the whole project and it put more debt on the government in the near future. Not even build modern labs or colleges in these areas. Health care of poor families is still a big problem as all Pakistanis paid taxes so it is the responsibility of the government to fulfill the needs of the people as we are a poor country but the government did not make powerful strategies regarding this.
PTI’s government has not made any efforts to undertake any justice reforms. If we talk about corruption then Khan said that he would make Pakistan a corrupt Free State and accused PMLN of corruption of Rs 27 billion in Lahore Metro. He called members of PLMN corrupt and thieves. He built Peshawar BRT of the same length as the metro and stopped NAB and FIA from investigating this project. He collected 250 Arabs for the construction of the dam but did not start working. No one asked about that fund so it’s not corruption?
Imran Khan served as Prime Minister of Pakistan for three and half years and then ousted by a no-confidence vote in 2022. 13 opposition political parties particularly PMLN( Pakistan Muslim League-N) and PPP (Pakistan People’s Party) made collective efforts to oust the government. Then Imran Khan dissolve the national assembly and a new government is formed. Shehbaz Sharif takes oath as the Prime Minister for the coalition period. After ousting the government and winning a confidence vote in parliament, Bilawal Bhutto said “welcome to purana Pakistan” (Saira,2022).
Opposition parties claimed that the military played a significant part in the formation of the government in 2018 and was the selected government rather than elected. The new government visited London to discuss matters of state with their leader Nawaz Sharif. The former Prime Minister and chairman of PTI refuse to accept the new government, claiming that this is a US-led conspiracy against him and is responsible for his fall because his foreign policies are in the favor of Russia and China. According to him, the US has sent him a letter which proves that the opposition parties were in contact with them and both planned to file a confidence motion against him( Threats from the US, say Pak Imran khan in slip of tongue, 2022). After being hosted Khan started holding rallies and called the new government an “imported government” and Prime Minister as “crime minister”. His supporters are mainly youth and middle-class people. He planned to lead the “Freedom March” to Islamabad to put pressure on the government for holding a new election. The problem here is that in spite of all these political situations and the coming of new government Pakistanis still face major problems including inflation at high level. Life of people is becoming miserable day by day.
Analysis:
Today Pakistan is facing a serious economic and political crisis. On the 11th of April, Pakistan had a new government after Imran Khan was ousted by a confidence motion. This new government has been in a state of decision paralysis while PTI is leading a freedom March across the country for new elections. Pakistan is also facing climatic problems at the same time; an unprecedented heat wave has covered Pakistan for weeks. Media has played a vital role in covering Khan’s rallies and interviews. His supporters started to use the same words like “Imported government” and “Crime Minister” as Imran khan did. Khan’s strategy is to put pressure on the government for conducting elections as his party resigned from parliament and started protests countrywide. The new government also faces many challenges but not only from Khan.
Shehbaz Sharif’s brother Nawaz Sharif, three times former Prime Minister of Pakistan was accused of corruption in 2017 and now resides in London. It seems as if he still has control over the party PMLN and the government. The new government maintains subsidies that Khan’s government installed due to the precondition of the IMF renewing the Pakistan loan program. Pakistan’s economy continues its downfall spiral against the dollar.
The stock market also lost its value. Khan called on supporters for protests and entered Islamabad by hook or by crook, in response to this the government warned Khan not to do so but then the Supreme Court of Pakistan permitted Khan for conducting the protests but on the condition that the rallies remain peaceful and remain restricted only to the allocated public grounds but protesters did not follow the Courts orders. Supporters of Khan headed towards the Square near the Parliament for the rally but things changed when the clashes started between the administrators and the police. Police fired tear gas and tried to push back protesters. Protestors also started to set fire to trees and cars, burning police vehicles, shops, and bus stations, sending smoke and flames rising into the sky.
The government launched a crackdown and thousands of people were arrested for the protests it was said that Khan’s March is illegal and his supporters entered Islamabad with “evil intentions”. Then Khan stopped his protest but warned the government that he would return if the elections were not called within six days.
Strategies that khan and opposition parties are now using can be understood with the help of game theory. Imran Khan promised the country that he will form Naya Pakistan in which everything is according to Sharia like Rayasat-e- Medinah. He is using religion in his speeches at rallies and political campaigns. His strategies involve targeting youth and middle-class citizens. As most of the population of Pakistan appreciates the religiously conservative leader and Imran Khan uses religion to target the audience in his political speeches. PMLN leader on Tuesday, January 18, 2022, dubbed Imran Khan as a “religion exploiter” and said that the country’s poor economic condition is all due to the bad governance of Imran Khan and he uses religion to cover up all this trying to manipulate people.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also using many strategies during his political campaigns. He was charged with corruption and served a prison sentence of nearly two years during his previous government but he has been on bail because no charge was proved against him in court. Inflation is at its peak in Shahbaz Sharif’s government too. He announced new relief packages for deserving families by assisting them with 2000 PKR each on monthly basis. According to him, this package will provide financial assistance to about 85 million people. He introduced this package to gain the trust of the poor community and tries to reduce poverty.
Pakistan’s economy is becoming weaker day by day and overall poverty is also increasing. Inflation in Pakistan breaks 70 years’ record during PTI’s government. People started protesting against the increased prices of everything including sugar, ghee, flour, petrol, etc. Electricity rates have also increased. Citizens were shocked over the increased prices of chicken, beef, and mutton creating chaos countrywide. About half the population of Pakistan believed that maybe this situation would be controlled by the new government but that did not happen. Inflation remains at its peak during the new government and 92.9% of the population agrees that inflation and price hike is higher during the current government than the previous one.
Both governments blamed IMF for inflation but the poor community blamed the government. One of the respondents named Ayesha who is 25 years old said that: “Nai hakoomat ki mazeed mehngai ki wajah sy ghareeb admi ka jeena mushkil hogya hai” ( Due to further inflation caused by the government living has become really difficult for the poor). Although Imran Khan said that according to World Bank figures poverty has decreased during his government. After the political transition, this figure has increased due to IMF saying to Shehbaz Sharif that it is necessary to raise fuel and electricity prices so that IMF will facilitate funding. Inflation hit 13.8% in May and could rise to about 20% and double digits in the next year. That’s why common people face many difficulties in running a household. A responded name Umar (30 years old) who is a taxi driver said that: “Roti k paisy hi puray nhi ho rahy in dino jo k sb sy zyada zaroori cheez hai”( Money for ones daily bread is not even getting fulfilled which is the most important thing). Corruption which continues in Pakistan is also a major factor behind inflation. Khadija (40 years old women) currently working as a school teacher said that: “hr sal hakoomat fund ikhatha krti ha pr mulk or awaaz ki bajaiy wo apni zaat pr paisa lgaty hn” ( Every year the government raises funds but instead of spending them for the country or people they spend it on their own personal selves).
Pakistan is a Muslim-majority state and most of the people link all of this current instability in the country to their religion. People think that they have forgotten the teachings of Islam and are not following the religion in its true meaning that’s why our country is suffering. Ali ( 31 years old) who is a citizen of Muslim Town and the Khadim of Mosque said that: “Ye sb jo mulk k halat hain ye hmaray gunahon ki saza hai, hum ny apny deen ko chor diya hai to Allah ka azaab hai ye hum pr, pehly corona tha or ab mehngai” ( All the current situations of the country are the result of our own sins, we have left our religion aside that’s why it is the punishment of Allah on us, first it was corona and now inflation).
People of Pakistan are still confused that in whether they are living in Naya Pakistan or in Purana Pakistan. Citizens did not decide as everyone had different ideologies in a political context and the term selected takes a different interpretation by the current government. From the perspective of citizens, Naya and Purana Pakistan are acting like they’re on the edge of detachment, much like the Shiza and Fiza meme nonetheless. They both look so alike that it’s difficult to tell they are isolated from one another but they are encountering to speak to each other. They created different interpretations in people’s minds because the word elected means two different things in Naya and Purana Pakistan as they have a different sets of facts. It is not just a generational gap but also an ideological gap depressed by Twitter.
Most citizens think that every new day is there to correct ourselves and think better for our country than in the past. Some of them wanted to bring prosperity and peace to the country with the safe political competition without personalization. But many argued that we expected the new government would announce its policies and relief packages for the local citizens to give a little comfort from inflation while they start visiting abroad. The situation is out of control in the current political affairs as push and pull can be observed and the three great parties play their role enthusiastically, the PTI, PML(N), and the PPP saw communicate with large gatherings in different cities to prepare their voters. According to a survey of newspaper, the elections are not announced officially while the Vice President of PML(N) Mariam Nawaz Sharif claimed that the elections will be decided by her dad Nawaz Sharif from London let’s see hope for the best!
As a matter of fact, Pakistan has inherited a democratic political system from its past but has been powerless to show or adopt a democratic culture they are still struggling. So, it is clear that the purpose behind this is discrimination and autocratic policies where the investigation of autonomous values and policies is impaired beyond the powerful voices. It is more like a back-and-forth system in Pakistani governmental issues and whosoever invests his energy or raises his voice, in the constant battle will be expected to take their positions forward. On the other hand, the rise of media also complicated the political system as they communicate with political leaders, the way elections are contested, and how citizens engage in politics. In the current circumstances, the noticeable issues that arise and are necessary to handle properly are political partition, press good fortune, institutional consistency, policy making, public safety, and judgment rather than serious individual representation. In this ongoing situation, the rate of the dollar is Rs. 208 mark highest in the history after the change of government while in April, last government it was Rs. 184, as per the State Bank of Pakistan.
The petrol price was hiked up by another Rs. 24/litre, new price 233.89/litre, a total of Rs. 84 increases in three weeks. The raised prices are seen in food items, especially wheat, sugar, oil, tea, pulses, and so on (Assad, 2022). The survey was conducted to make an idea about the current political situation as all parts of the society must be included in the current situation that is happening in the outgoing scenario. In contemporary, the younger generation is more actively participating in politics and contributing to making the right decision for the maintenance of a stable and peaceful country. Most of the responses from young people we get from our questionnaire demonstrate that they choose Khan’s government rather than PML-N. The reason behind this is that they didn’t satisfy as everything is changed and people didn’t accept the current government commands. The qualitative data from our survey shows that 65% of respondents support PTI, 30% people support PML-N and 5% are those that do not agree with anyone, maybe they are still confused and would not vote for either candidate.
The debate remains at the same point that citizens are still confused about whether we are living in Naya Pakistan or in Purana Pakistan. The most important issue that arises in the current situation is the citizens of Pakistan that suffered a lot, especially the poor community. There are many cases that remain unresolved, take the case of the Baloch missing person their families have been protesting on the streets but did not seek justice. Nobody wants a peaceful and prosperous country but everyone has only one purpose and that is power. The main concern is that lawyers, academics, rights activists, and civil society members must raise their voices in support of the rule of law. Otherwise, Naya and Purana Pakistan, all absolute efforts to make a better country would represent nothing – but an intra-class power struggle between the subculture high society individuals.
The real difference between Naya and Purana Pakistan is that Naya Pakistan gives hope to the ordinary people whereas Purana Pakistan is who you knew mattered more than what you knew. There is no such thing as surprised people every day, now people are waiting for the next general elections, which are just around the corner. Now all political parties should embrace a solid contest without compromising public honesty and security. Moreover, the Pakistan Army has forever been an area of strength for the nation to avoid governmental issues. Prayers for our institution’s stability and status as it generally will be there in the future also. So, the two ideas that everyone in Pakistan can agree on or a platform to maintain balance is first one is that the boys should stay out of politics and the second one is that elections should be free and fair. The citizens of Pakistan now desire progress, no matter how painful or slow it will be, so the people of Pakistan should elect to live in Naya or Purana Pakistan (Lakhani, 2022).
Conclusion:
We have come to the conclusion that the current political situation revolves around two parties, the PTI and the PML-N. Other neutral parties such as PPP, JUI-F, and JL are playing a very important role. The PPP, PML-N, and other neutral parties tried to overthrow the PTI government. When Imran’s government ended, he started protesting against the other government. Inflation in Pakistan is rising day by day and it will double in the coming years. The poor community is being hit hard by inflation. There was inflation in Imran’s government too but the PML-N government increased inflation a lot. The poor are being hit hard by inflation. Even poor people hardly eat two meals a day. That is why people cannot believe that they have lived in new or old Pakistan.
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