By Falak Sher Niazi

Nicholos Machivelli, Pervez Elahi and Imran Khan

Niccolo Machiavelli devoted his book “The Prince” to Lorenzo de Medici, Florence’s young Prince, and provoked him to read his work and follow its advice.

The primary emphasis is on how principalities can be acquired, governed, and preserved. It identifies three main types of principalities:

*Hereditary principality passes down power through the ruling family. It is easy to maintain as long as the hereditary Prince continues to rule as before.

* New principalities are created through military or civil acquisition.

*Mixed principalities, new territories added to an existing one, are of two kinds.

The message from this book is it is better to be parsimonious than generous, cruel than loving, crafty than honest. The general rule is to be as good as circumstances allow, but be willing to resort to any means necessary for the good of the state. A feudal prince must be wise in controlling the nobles and keeping the people content. Even fortresses are only helpful if the Prince has the support of his people.https://republicpolicy.com/there-are-a-few-good-u-turns-ik-takes-it/

Then, the former Prime minister Imran Khan is now the most popular leader in Pakistan. He understands the concepts of the Prince. His critics attribute him to the Prince of Pakistan. Pervez Elahi has been a politician of the status quo and Establishment for the last fifty years. He not only understands the concept of the Prince but also implements it. 

The politics in Pakistan has been complex and power-ridden. It is so power-ridden that it even defeats the spirit of The Prince. The central force in the politics in Pakistan has been the Establishment. The Establishment nurtured almost all political leaders, including ZA Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif, Pervez Elahi and Imran Khan. Interestingly, all political leaders went against the Establishment except Pervez Elahi. It happened because all other leaders knew their public support, and Elahi knew he did not have public permission. Therefore, Shujat and Pervez Elahi are the most successful politicians without any public support in the history of Pakistan. They may be lucky also, but their primary mode of politics is nepotism, biases and inclinations. Hence, Pervez Elahi and his politics directly conflict with PTI and Imran Khan. 

Like all other politicians, the politics of Imran Khan is power-ridden. Although he struggled for many years, he realized he couldn’t come into power without their support. Therefore, he did politics of “electable” with their help and won the elections in 2018 along with his core popularity. IK also allied electorally with Q league under their impression, as critics attribute. IK voted as prime minister with the support of several allies and subsequently formed governments in Punjab, KPK, Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan and Kashmir. However, the most significant part of his political power was that he was the country’s prime minister. He tried to run all governments only to maintain his prime ministership. PDM was able to dethrone him and Punjab Government. However, IK won back the Punjab government and handed it over to Pervez Elahi.

PTI has four governments in Pakistan, including Punjab, KPK, GB and Azad Kashmir. Then, PTI has no government because IK is not a prime minister. It always propels IK that early elections are essential even though PTI has four governments. It seems that the whole philosophy of IK is to become Prime Minister, as the empowerment of PTI is secondary to him. Elections are a matter of a few months now as the equation of early elections subsided. However, the politics in Punjab is one that Machiavelli seems proud of as his philosophy to cling to power is implemented. The power dynamics are so unique that Pervez Elahi is the ally of IK despite publically taunting IK as a Napi politician and Ahsan Farmosh.

The politics of Pervez Elahi is ” DERA POLITICS”. It is that form of politics where law, rules, merit and procedures are not followed but nepotism, corruption and cronyism. One can easily comprehend this type of politics that the projects in the Gujrat Division contain more than 220 billion rupees despite the country’s closing into financial collapse. He has also invested in the bureaucracy. He has all his faithful officers at various offices. Then, he illegally doled out state property to journalists and other professionals. Even sources inside the bureaucracy claim that the CM secretariat has become a house of nepotism and corruption. The recruitment is political, and contract awarding is personal.https://republicpolicy.com/is-q-league-achilles-heel-of-imran-khan/

Pervez Elahi shall always stay in the office of the Chief Minister. He has successfully halted it for two months now as critics believe that there are so many powers which shall not let the PA dissolve. Pervez Elahi is politically far more tricky to the political wits of IK. Sources inside PTI claim that most MPAs want to change how PE manages his position as Chief Minister.

However, the most thrilling part is that of Moonis Elahi. He is the mediator between Khan and Elahi. People who know Punjab’s rural politics may understand how power is managed inside villages. In the morning, an influential person beats the other significant person, and then he asks for his forgiveness in the evening. Then, the person who is beaten forgives the cruel, but then, the next morning, the same person beats him again. This is the way the first person holds control. This is precisely what is happening with the IK. PE taunts IK, and Moonis Elahi manages it. Then, PE again does it, and Moonis manages. This is the typical Punjabi syndrome, and IK being Mianwallian, hardly understands it.

The politics in Punjab is so complicated that no one knows who is with whom. Even Machiavelli can not understand it now. The strength of PTI and Imran Khan is their soaring popularity. They should take all their decision on the will of their support. Imran Khan and PTI are not made for these favouring games. Other parties, including PPP, JUI F, PML N, MQM and Q league, are crafty and know how to spin the political wheel. IK and PTI can not beat them in their way of politics. IK and PTI have their brand of politics, and they should play on their brand where other political parties cannot play.https://republicpolicy.com/the-popularity-of-imran-khan-is-not-coming-down/

The writer is an advocate Supreme Court