ISLAMABAD – After election victory in Pakistan last year was greeted by anoutpouring of optimism and derision. The day he won, he appeared ontelevision, visibly elated to address a celebrating Pakistan.
Though he stuck to his campaign promises, he sounded different.As he stared straight into the eyes of his people, offering assurances thatit wasn’t time to worry, presenting himself front-line for accountability,promising a Naya (new) Pakistan, it seemed he had finally transitioned frompolitician to Statesman: honest, conciliatory, human. In a country wherehope had long crossed its sell-by date, his words offered a renewed leaseof life and people clung on fiercely. Since then, his authentic, stirringavatar has reappeared, evoking long-buried patriotism among hungeredPakistanis.
What Khan’s rallying for a Naya Pakistan did, however, was inflateexpectations. Between wild-eyed fanaticism and outright bashing, mostforgot the messy, scattered, gargantuan prospect Pakistan really is.Undeniably, Pakistan has been heading in the wrong direction for the lastfive decades; an extractive political system created a rent-seekingpolitical and economic elite, benefitting a sliver of society at theexpense of the masses.
Fleeting periods appeared when the sea wasn’t choppy, but change neversustained. Amid the backdrop of such misgovernance, Khan’s rise as alegitimate political alternative led to the fanning of irrationalexpectancies.
Today, it is difficult to deny that things have not gone according toscript. Pakistan’s economic challenges have been harsher than the mostdismal prognosis and with the on-going saga in Kashmirlink,geo-politics has spiraled downwards. After a year of painful policies andeconomic challenges, most seem inclined to ditch the optimism entirely.
However, as is commonly believed, it is darkest before dawn. Withexpectations suitably calibrated to the tough reality that Khan’sleadership faces, it is possible to see green-shoots emerging in politicaland economic arenas.
What Khan is trying to implement is a wholesale reform that steers thecountry towards an inclusive political and economic system. By revampingstrategic objectives of Statecraft, the game of smoke and mirrors byprevious governments is being laid to rest. The speed of reform is slow andbumpy, and the slew of benefits won’t rain down immediately, but crucially,the *direction* seems to be right.
For Pakistan’s economy, the inherited legacy of debt and deficits, enormouseven by Pakistan’s own standards, has created immediate issues of economicgrowth. A deeper dive, however, reveals that the rent-seeking culture ofyesteryear is finally being reined in. Discouraging investment innon-productive land and consumer goods imports, while promoting exports andimport substitution is a long, drawn-out process, in a country whereproductivity has been steadily dwindling.
After years of neglect, investment in exports is on the rise andentrepreneurs have begun setting up businesses based on importsubstitution. The technology eco-system in Pakistan is belatedly butultimately coming into place. An ambitious task of bringing more peopleinto the tax net is reaping dividends, with a 65 per cent increase in taxfilers over the last year.
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This indicates a longer-term shift of realigning incentive structures; aswe unlearn the old tricks of the trade, such upheaval is bound to createripples. The road ahead is long and arduous but Khan’s vision is beginningto reverse the self-destructive path on which Pakistan was treading fordecades. It counts as success that his initial slate of reforms is termedas *irreversible *by the business community.
On the international stage, Khan’s leadership style is a departure from hispredecessors. Recognition prior to politics, coupled with the promise of“incorruptibility”, signal his diplomatic stature. Incidents such as Pulwamalink, followed by the Kashmir crisislink,put Khan’s diplomatic headship to instant test and both times, he scored.
Requests for him to serve as an honest broker to mediate between theUS-Afghanistanlink and US-Iranlinkevidencesthe same confidence. Pakistan has surfaced as a responsible global player;a harbinger of peace with its narrative ubiquitously conveyed. The messageto world leaders is loud and clear: Pakistan is no longer a pawn, a joke, abystander on the world stage. It is active, engaged, relevant andresponsible. This is a dramatic shift from the past, one which may garnergreater recognition retrospectively.
The “Naya Pakistan” that Khan envisioned may be a dream too far-fetched forthis perplexing country – at least for now. But by expecting an overnightpanacea that turns Pakistan around, we are turning *best* into the enemy ofthe *good*. Instead, what warrants recognition is that despite thecacophony, political winds blowing across the country are putting thearchitecture for real, tangible change into place – although its pace andscope have left many dispirited.
Whether one gushes over Khan or remains a trenchant critic, as Pakistanis,the more realistic conversations we should have are about aligning ourambitions for an economically stable Pakistan, a relevant and responsibleactor on the world stage. If that in itself is achieved, a version of hisNaya Pakistan would become reality. Even short of that, for attempting theherculean reform agenda of retracting a nation of 200 million people fromthe abyss, the cricketer-turned-politician deserves more claps thancondemnation. – The Independent
*Farrukh Karim Khan works in Pakistan’s capital markets as a portfoliomanager* and *Saba Karim Khan works at New York University’s global campusin Abu Dhabi*
