Between the Lines Imran Khan, Machiavelli, and Ashoka By Fayyaz Baqir

Imran Khan started his campaign to return to the government through an agitation movement. To understand his politics, it is important to ask some basic questions. He claims that he wants to return to the government so that he can catch the “thieves”. Before coming to the government, he had announced that he would end corruption in three months. In four years, he could not prove a single case of corruption in court. He says that the courts did not support him., the media did not support him. and the army did not support him. Dealing with the looting done by his own party members, he printed a report and released them too. Even his party did not support him. But he kept saying that I will not spare anyone. His complaint is that he does not have a stick in his hands. He wants to be given a chance to participate in elections again soon so that he can come to the government with more seats and coerce his opponents into submission.

There are three problems in coercion politics. On the one hand, democracy is the name of governance through discussion, negotiation, and bargaining and no party has the right to establish a dictatorship in the name of democracy. This kind of authoritarian politics is called Machiavellian politics. This means you can use any method to achieve your goals. Ends justify the means. You are on the “truth” and if you have to lie to protect the truth, it is permissible. It is permissible to invent a false letter to catch the “thieves”. Even if the thieves have not been found guilty in any court, you keep calling them criminals instead of accused. If you are removed from your post by the parliament, then instead of fighting in the parliament, you threaten to use violence and give up the path of the democratic opposition.

Another problem with politics of violence is that if political issues are to be solved with stick, then you will ask for help from people who know how to use the stick better than you and hand over political decision making to them. And will turn the victory of democracy into a defeat. The third problem is that business laws have to be changed to bring back “stolen” assets. You were sent to the parliament to make such laws. You have not made a single law in four years to stop the pilferage of resources and have been raising two slogans. Don’t panic and I won’t quit. The matter is quite simple. If doing business in the country is profitable., no businessman will deposit money outside the country. If you give tax concessions to a certain section of the elite or give them tax exemption or provide them subsidized loans you will raise resources to run the government by extortion from the poor and vulnerable sections of society. Capital will flow out of the country if incompetent businesses are given subsidies and competent businesses suffer due to discriminatory practices. Foreign investment has flowed to China, UAE, Singapore, and India from all over the world because they made laws to encourage businesses.

Now Khan Sahib has decided to risk the lives of innocent people by asking them to court arrests on a mass scale. This is sad and ruthless politics. He should contest elections on time to return to government and not sacrifice people’s lives. Instead of Machiavelli’s “imported” ideas, he should focus on the example of Ashoka’s son in dealing with the defiant Raja of Taxila. When the Raja of Taxila refused to pay taxes to Emperor Ashoka, he sent his son with an army to collect the taxes. When the armies came face to face in Taxila, Ashoka’s son did not fight and spent several days in silence. Finally, the king of Taxila sent a message saying why don’t you fight – Ashoka’s son said if there is a war, either you will win, or I will win but hundreds of innocent soldiers will be killed on both sides Why don’t you and I come to the battlefield. One of us will get the throne, the other will die. That will settle our accounts. Why should we sacrifice others for our personal gains? Khan Sahib should not sacrifice others and refuse to court arrest himself. If he wants to lead resistance he should go to jail himself. If he wants to take the throne, he should put his head on the stake, otherwise, he should go back to Parliament.