Imran’s 2018 Promises Hardly Different From 2013’s

Imran Khan’s 11-point reform programme for the 2018 elections as announced on Sunday night in PTI’s major Lahore rally, is not much different from what the party had pledged before the 2013 polls though it mostly remained unimplemented in KP — the province ruled by the Tehreek-e-Insaf during the last five years. Education, healthcare, tax reforms, corruption control, economy, employment, tourism, agriculture, Federation and provincial reforms, justice system and women empowerment are the 11 areas identified by Imran Khan for special emphasis if he comes into power after the 2018 elections to make the country a “Naya Pakistan”.

The 2013 manifesto of the PTI shows that the areas of emphasis and pledges made before the previous elections for the party almost remain the same even today as the country is preparing for the 2018 polls. Although, many aspects of the 2013 manifesto deal with the federal government for which the PTI could not be questioned, still there are several promises which fall in the domain of the provincial governments but remained unfulfilled by the PTI government in KP.

For example, the PTI had promised one education system in five-year’s time; doubling the number of girls’ high schools; provision of clean drinking water and sanitation facilities across rural and urban areas; a fully devolved national health governance system with solid links to community; development of industrial infrastructure and estates; skill development through institutionalised vocational and technical education; end of Benami ownership; construction of small dams, run of the river projects and decentralisation of irrigation system based on village councils; addressing the housing need of the poor; jail reforms in order to transform the jails into reformatories; set up One Step Women Centres at UC level to provide medical, legal, economic direction, references and aid to women; government offices to have a minimum 20 percent quota for female staff; launch of Accountability Emergency through independent and empowered Accountability Mechanism; oversight committees to be created comprising village council members to oversee the functioning of health units, schools, policy stations, revenue, irrigation and agriculture departments.

However, hardly any of the above mentioned promises as reflected in the PTI 2013 manifesto has been fulfilled. Details show that the PTI manifesto had committed to achieving one education system in five years’ time, increase in spending for education from 2 percent of GDP to 5 percent of GDP, doubling the number of girls’ high schools in five years and initiation of a special programme to modernise and upgrade government sector colleges.

The 2013 PTI manifesto pledged health sector emergency. The PTI had promised that All Basic Health Units, Rural Health Units will be revitalised with doctors, staff and medicines. The PTI also promised that all DHQ/THQ hospitals will be modernised besides ensuring free primary healthcare system for the poor; increasing existing coverage by the public sector by 100 percent; a fully devolved national health governance system with solid links to the community; availability of clean drinking water and sanitation facilities across rural and urban Pakistan.

In the field of economy, the PTI in 2013 had promised developing industrial infrastructure and estates with basic industrial facilities in every district of Pakistan; imparting skill development to two million people per annum through institutionalising vocational and technical education; encouraging provincial infrastructure development schemes and projects for exports.

In the agriculture sector, the PTI in 2013 had committed to enforcing the existing land reform laws to the full and ensuring that the land taken by the state is redistributed amongst landless peasants only; to outlaw Benami ownership and special effort will be made to uncover Benami ownership.

Ensuring Pakistan’s water security. The PTI had promised in 2013 small dams initiative and run of the river projects. Its 2013 manifesto said that there are many sites for small dams. It also promised to decentralise the irrigation system based on village councils.

The PTI manifesto of 2013 election had also promised that it will encourage and provide incentives for reducing the massive backlog of housing needs. It also pledged to give innovative financing measures to facilitate housing needs of the deserving.

For Justice and Criminal Justice System, the PTI manifesto 2013 had promised that litigation to be reduced and justice ensured through amending the arbitration law, making every contractual dispute arbitral and enforcing an alternative dispute resolution regime. It had also promised that police investigation is to be made mandatory in cognizable and non-cognizable cases; complaints to register an FIR by making a phone call to a police station; jail reforms to be instituted and parole rules to be modernised with necessary checks and balances so that jails can be transformed into reformatories entailing a duty of the state to rehabilitate prisoners housed in jails for more than a year.

The PTI 2013 manifesto had special emphasis on youth employment. It promised that an independent National Youth Foundation will be established to act as pillar of national unity by promoting inter regional communications between the youth; Jawan Markaz will be established in every district/tehsil which will be coordinated by Youth Foundation; facilitate and mentor local entrepreneurs by connecting them with experts, business plan formulation and capital generation guidance; scholarships and interest free loans for deserving students will be significantly increased; the youth benefitting from vocational training programmes to be increased from 300,000 to two million per annum.

In its gender policy of 2013 manifesto, the party maintained that it will have a proactive gender policy for development of women to realise their full potential. All discriminatory laws will be eliminated to ensure equal status of women; restore federal and provincial ministries for women; set up Insafgah — One Step Women Centres at UC level to provide medical, legal, economic direction, references and aid to women; provision of training programmes, subsidies and monetary incentives to increase opportunities for self-employment for women; government offices to have a minimum 20 percent quota for female staff.

The manifesto had also promised Accountability Emergency through independent and empowered Accountability Mechanism. The PTI had also promised to create a bottom-up system by focusing on the community and thus rural governance will begin with the village. Its manifesto of 2013 said that a village will have sufficient money as a “right” to maintain services and perform functions that will become its responsibility under village councils. These will include recurring funds as well as access to development funds for investments in infrastructure.

The manifesto also committed that majority of local disputes to be resolved within the village to reduce the burden of seeking this higher up the justice system. Village councils will maintain village solidarity and unity through Alternate Dispute Resolution methods backed by law. Oversight committee will be created comprising village council members to oversee the functioning of Health units, schools, policy stations, revenue, irrigation and agriculture departments.

(Published in Monthly Tribute International on 01-05-2018)