November 11-12, Lahore, an introduction:

 was fortunate enough to establish a direct contact with a key member of the party who gave me a patient hearing, and invited me to Lahore to visit the central office and meet some of the party members who were gathering for a meeting, prior to the start of the election process. I thought this would be a great opportunity to evaluate things first hand. I spent the first day with a couple of party members and was able to shadow them through the course of the day. I was encouraged by the positive reception they were given at many of the engagements, and a lot of the private sentiments of people were also revealing. People agreed with what they wanted to do, but again felt frustrated and helpless in that change occurring – a recurring sentiment. I also got to hear the party member’s internal concerns and obstacles they faced – despite which their commitment did not seem to waver. I suppose when you have a sincere belief that you are acting in a sincere manner you find the conviction to face the obstacles. The first day spent at party offices was an eye opener and rather encouraging. The following day the party meeting was held. Imran Khan chaired the meeting and key party representatives from all parts of the nation were present. A lot of interactive discussion was held and issues raised, resolved and identified. What seemed consistent throughout, in the meeting and in private discussions was optimism. Finally! These people, like me, also believed that things had to change, they could not continue as they were. That a great injustice was being inflicted on our nation and in particular the poor. They were sympathetic, most of all they were committed to doing something – whatever the outcome. This type of attitude was reflective of my own personal views. I felt comfortable – I was around people who also felt and thought what I did. I am sure there are specifics that people do differ on, but everyone was united on the agenda of positive social change, and our obligation to contribute especially to the “masses” – this was what was important. Additionally, the party members were educated, exposed and not by any means people who anyone could consider to be naïve. They understood that the challenges were significant – they were not delusional – the ground realities were understood and being dealt with. There were no airs and graces amongst the people, there was no strict protocol and stifling hierarchy, people expressed their views without fear of retribution. This type of open dialogue was refreshing.

I decided that this was a party I was comfortable with. The people were of a similar mind-set. The objectives were in line with my personal thinking. I could not think of any good reason, apart from apathy, not to join and start contributing. Tareek-i-insaaf was to be the party I would join and start on the road of politics. In terms of my involvement in politics, I am just talking about contribution. I do not expect to hold a key post, I do not expect to sit in an A/C’ed room and think about solutions and criticisms. I want to get my hands dirty and contribute to the overall aims and objectives. The objective is to serve the people, not the other way round.

On my flight back to Karachi, I thought about my experience and what had brought me to this decision. It was then that I decided that I should start a blog to document this experience. It would serve as a good means for me to examine my thought progress and also solicit feedback. This blog will not infringe on any confidentiality, nor reveal any private discussions or information entrusted with me. It will just be a account of my experiences and my thoughts, a means for me to evaluate the chosen course of action, and to serve as a means for enagaging those who may happen to stumble upon it. If you are one of them, then please let me know; What are your thoughts, comments, complaints, ideas, reservations, criticisms, observations, feedback, jokes!….anything…I would like to get a feel of things, are others thinking what I am thinking? What do you suggest? Criticize, complain, educate, entertain, whatever….don’t just sit there……

Rationalization

I have thought about writing a blog on many occasions, but it always seems either too personal or too boring, but something happened recently or rather a chain of events which I thought would merit a blog.

Let’s start with a bit of background. I am a Pakistani male in my early thirties – born in Pakistan, but never really lived here. My parents moved to the middle east when I was one, and spent most of my formative years there. Our family used to travel to Paksitan regularly, usually a couple of times a year. With the completion of my O-levels and the lack of further education in the middle east took me to London. My A level and bachelors were done from there, and then I moved to the US to work for an accounting firm before returning to London to complete my Masters, after which I embarked on setting up a business with some friends based in the UK and Pakistan. I continued to live in the UK but traveled frequently to Pakistan, due to business commitments. About 8 months ago I decided to move back to Pakistan permanently for a number of reasons, the details of which I may get into later.

Despite being an overseas Pakistani I always felt a strong bond to my roots, I often feel that this bond is possibly stronger in some overseas Pakistanis because they are constantly defending their identity and tarnished (often deservedly so) image. I think this is also compounded by the fact that overseas you see the achievements of other nations and their infrastructures and institutions and in contrast Pakistan with its vibrant people, natural resources and significant potential seems to lag behind and unable to emulate strategies that work. I have always had an interest in why things are the way they are, both on a national and more recently on an international basis, and what can be done to change things for the better. No doubt this is something a lot of people also think about. What I felt strongly about though was that whatever the obstacles and hurdles and despite the level of actual change one can bring about – it is essential to do something….to make an effort, even if that effort turns out to be in vain. Often at social gatherings and casual banter with friends these topics are the central point of discussion – our situation as a nation, our situation as a people, the Muslims, global politics and the like…we seem very well equipped for arm-chair criticism, but that is as far as it goes – the passion and desire comes to an abrupt halt as the people disperse back to their daily engagements. Personally I feel that if one is to have the right to partake in any type of arm chair criticism of the general state of things – with that goes an imperative obligation to make an effort. Talk is cheap. Anyway, this thinking brought me to a decision that if I could, I must try and do something – in whatever capacity possible, firstly to understand the situation and then to see how it can be improved. This objective brought me to re-locate to Pakistan, as my business commitments give me this type of location independence.

Upon coming to Pakistan, and spending only about a year here so far, I have only begun to scratch the surface of the local sentiments. What has been striking to me so far is the difference in perception of our state of affairs. I am an optimist, I believe we have a strong, intelligent and vibrant people and they fundamentally are a good people. I understand that there are issues of corruption, and distribution of wealth and lack of reliable institutions. I believe the “middle class” (or what is left of it) and the “upper class” have a duty, an obligation to the poor of this nation. They are only well off due to the sacrifices of our masses. The solution to our nations problems do not lie in catering for every whim and requirement of the have’s but rather in serving the poor. Those of us who have been fortunate, by no achievement of our own except being born in the favorable circumstances, should understand that those born into unfavorable circumstances had just as little to do with it. For this favor, we have an obligation to others. Anyway, this is obviously just one aspect of Pakistan – the social issues, and there are multiple angles and facets that need to be understood, in order to provide a holistic resolution – but the poor the disenfranchised, the have’nots must be the focus of our nation – they are our engine and they are our means to future prosperity. If we alienate and disregard them, it will only be to the detriment of our own nation.

There are also a multitude of issues to do with Pakistan’s international policies and politics, which are unrepresentative of the people, but this again will only change by empowerment of the people who our leaders claim to represent. As such – by resolving a lot of the social aspects of or society we can have a mutil-layered impact on other issues (although these also need to be targeted and dealt with individually). Therefore I feel focusing on internal and social issues – which include primarily economics (distribution of wealth, cost of living, employment) coupled with the means to achieve this, through independent and reliable institutions – in particular the judiciary – we as a nation can build ourselves into a formidable international force representative of the people, and addresses the many frustrations of Pakistanis and Muslims as a whole. The change though must come from us, each of us.

I started by talking about perceptions, and I digressed, so to come back to that key point; I personally feel we have a lot to be optimistic about, we can change the state of affairs, we can be a respected nation, we can alter the state of mind of our people, we can make a difference, we have the tools – essentially because we are a principled people who do want what is best for our nation as a whole rather than just ourselves on an individual basis – but we face a lot of obstacles in the form of the status quo. This is my view – naïve I am told. The most common sentiment I have experienced is that of hopelessness, that of submission to the state of affairs, people are despondent, they have given up, they see no change, there is no motivation for change. Most people I speak to feel that things are just the way they are and will remain so because no one is really bothered. Those who are in positions of power or have strong financial standings do not see a need for change, why should they? They feel the masses are not worthy of anything better – their mentality is just such, they cannot be changed, let them be. Those who are in the “working class” feel the same apathy – there is nothing they can do, it is just the way things are, they just continue doing the best they can and not harbor any hopes because they are not really of concern to those who can make a change. Is this accurate? Am I delusional? Is what I think and the optimism I feel for our nation misplaced? Only one way to find out…..

So now what? All this optimism and criticism, I cannot just join the drawing room brigade for intermittent cathartic experiences. So I had to evaluate the possibilities, the options. So, let’s start with the neighborhood. So I started with other members of my neighborhood a basic group (I cringe to use the word “committee”) to resolve the local issues of security and cleanliness. We had some reasonable success and it seems to continue – but that is limited, and it only helps those who require little help – but it does prove that people are willing to contribute. So what else? One way – focus on social work, fund raise and do charitable work – but there are a lot of people much more seasoned already engaged in this activity, there seem to be no shortage of institutions, NGO’s and funding. Also, social activity alone doesn’t provide a long term and broadbase solution to the issues, it treats the symptoms but not the disease – but no doubt is an essential activity to engage in. My thoughts then went to the many discussions that people engage in, and often it is said, perhaps just in passing “one day I will get involved in politics”. I now started to give this flippant thought more serious consideration. I looked at the possibility, could I get involved? Well why not? I have certain skills which I could contribute with, I have a basic understanding of the issues, a willingness to learn and a genuine desire to be part of the inevitable change that our nation must go through – to save it from us. So why not? Well “it’s a dirty game”, “you cannot change the power bases”, “it’s a waste of time” are the most common responses, sans my immediate family and some like minded friends – who also seem to share my “misplaced” national optimism – are there others out there? Well, what have I got to loose? I’ll look foolish? Have looked foolish on many occasions where much less was at stake! If that was an issue I am sure many risks endured by man kind would never have been embarked upon. I don’t know how things work? Well that I can learn, and that is the only sure fire way of learning – experience. I will be unsuccessful – so what? It won’t make a difference? It will to me, regardless of the outcome. So I decided, this is the course that seemed to best align with my thoughts and objectives – but now the question moved onto how?

Well there were two obvious options. Start something, or join something. Starting something would be essential only if nothing existed that didn’t emulate the values and objectives that I held, and as such would have to be the second option in the absence of an alternative. So I evaluated the existing options. I listened to the various party leaders, read their manifestos, their objectives, their statements and their track record. There seemed to be an option – Imran Khan’s Tareek-i-insaaf party. In contrast the others it appeared to be lead by strong principles, a genuine desire to change the economic and social status quo, an objective of establishing strong institutions and regaining the sovereignty of our nation. All objectives which I shared. The party membership seemed to comprise of educated and like minded people, without an over riding personal interest. They seemed genuine and sincere, and did not mince their words. I liked that. It was rebellious – perhaps something that has always been attractive to me. No doubt in the “drawing room discussions” I heard many criticisms of the party – but nothing central to their objectives or approach – and everything to do with the fact that they had no realistic chance of winning. They were not a strong political party, they had only secured one seat, they did not have the vote bank – so? Is that the criteria for a good party? The fact that they may not have the potential for a sweeping victory? Do we only support people who win? Do you start supporting the rival team when your home team starts to loose? No. Granted Tareek-i-insaaf is the underdog – that personally, was more of an attraction than a detraction. I decided that this was an organization, within which I could see myself contributing, it’s message and objectives were in synch with my own personal thoughts. I also believe they are a credible party, no one doubts their sincerity or commitment, so the nay-sayers can only raise the issue of viability. The viability of the party will only be proven (or disproven) over time and through efforts, so to conclude that they were an unviable option would be premature. I therefore made a decision to engage further in this chosen course of action.