Political Views of Prime Minister Imran Khan VS ex-President Pervez Musharraf

Musharraf and Khan, trying to keep a friendly atmosphere. Photo: .pakistantoday.com.pk

Pakistan’s current leader and Prime Minister, Imran Khan, and its ex-leader and President, Pervez Musharraf, when compared, are the two most distinguished leaders in the history of Pakistan.

 One has been an athlete that worked as a politician for years while the other one was trained by the military of Pakistan. One won the hearts of people of Pakistan to become a leader while the other one imposed martial law on the country. The two leaders belong to a very different school of thought. Hence, their policies and methods to lead were also very different.

Musharraf often came to be known as a “dictator”. In his rule, the democratic institution didn’t develop at all and democratic culture was never encouraged. The rulings of the court had little standing in front of the military commander. The democratic institutions were disregarded completely, as Musharraf developed a taste for power. On the other hand, since day one Khan’s focus has always been to empower and enable democratic institutions. He has focused on making them independent so that they are not solely controlled by the government. He respects the decisions of courts and condemns them like any normal citizen would without abusing his power to interfere.

“Institutions are strengthened in democracies.”

- Prime Minister Imran Khan

Musharraf in his rule appeared as an intellectual, visionary and bold leader with a broad economic and political approach. He solved Pakistan’s problem in the military way where you take action. He made bold policies. The sluggish growth rates of the lost decade were uplifted from 2.1% to 7% in his very early years. Foreign exchange reserves were raised. It was his era that provided an attractive and suitable atmosphere for foreigners to invest in Pakistan and these investments kept coming even 8 years after his era which proves the argument that Musharraf’s government provided a friendly atmosphere to foreign investors.

While Musharraf was great at lifting economy, Khan, on the other hand, found it hard to take control. Hence, Pakistan’s economy remained Khan’s biggest challenge. In the beginning, Khan’s policies seemed destructive and resulted in high-interest rates and high inflation rates which kept on increasing. The high direct and indirect tax rates also added to inflation. Even though Khan had made a lot of promises but when it came to delivering on them, he suffered badly. However, the policies that have visibly caused us great damage also had some positive impacts; trade deficit down to 41-month low, KSE (Karachi Stock Exchange) gaining almost 5,000 points in 50 days, remittances and inland revenue up by 10% and 25%, respectively, foreign portfolio investments at record levels in the last quarter. Hence, we still need to give Khan some time before drawing further conclusions. His focus on economic growth is still in the early stages and his views are blurry to the public at least.

With contrasting political views and approaches, they remain some of the most respected leaders in the history of Pakistan. Khan stands with Musharraf during the recent verdict against him and it shows how he respects his predecessor.

AM