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| 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
