Thread about my observations, things that struck me, about PM Imran Khan's interview with Moeed Pirzada earlier today.

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He's deservedly proud of the success of his "smart lockdown" policy. What some call his stubbornness and obstinacy, is actually PM Khan's ability to "take pressure", as he calls it, and stick with what he believes to be the right decision.

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Surprisingly, he never talks about the track and trace methodology in this context. When the WHO recently called put Pakistan's Covid success, they referenced using the polio workers network for TTQ, which PM IK didn't refer to as the differentiator from, say, India.

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He clearly believes in making tough decisions, "taking the pressure", not doing what everyone is demanding or expecting. Quite contrary to the "populist" label that's ascribed to him. More on this later.

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PM IK started to talk about the top 3 key achievements of his government in his first 2 years, but got sidetracked, after the first. And Moeed Pirzada wasn't able to pull him back or bring the conversation back to that topic, which would have been interesting to hear.

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The one achievement he did talk about was successfully preventing Pakistan from sovereign default, which could have been a potential disaster, stabilizing the economy, and controlling the current account deficit, reducing to 1.1% of GDP in FY20 from 4.8% in FY19.

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Very interestingly, and somewhat surprisingly, PM IK accepted - and this may explain, at least to some extent, the decision re Asad Umar's removal - that they should have made the decision to enter into an IMF program sooner than they eventually did.

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For me, this was the first time I heard him accept that they were actually trying to not have to go to the IMF at all. A reflection of inexperience, which he admitted, and naivety. Ultimately, he realized we were expecting too much from "friends".

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What's encouraging is he's clearly learned from the mistake, has the courage to admit it, and can see what is foundational to the solution: increasing export revenue and reducing import spending.

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PM IK continues to invest his political capital in CM Buzdar. He either sees something we don't see, or he's making a grave political mistake, that his party will pay for in 2023. Meanwhile, he believes what lets Buzdar down is that he's not investing in media management.

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PM IK shared that, ultimately, his measure of success will be social and human development, particularly in the most under-developed parts of Punjab. Interesting to hear him equate DG Khan with Balochistan and FATA.

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This 'handicap' of not being media savvy, he said, results in CM Buzdar becoming a target, including from within the party.

I recall a somewhat similar situation in KP during the first couple of years of CM Khattak's government, when the focus was on human development.

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When asked about what he likes about Buzdar, PM Khan didn't hesitate: he's not corrupt. And knowing that he's had that validated by IB (he even said ISI today, but then quickly moved on) I tend to believe that. Is that enough, though, to run a province like Punjab?

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It can't be easy - not for anyone. With the Punjab police and bureaucracy fully politicized over 30 years of the Sharif fiefdom, a coalition government with a razor thin majority, and many new people on the team. The odds are stacked against him.

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Reading between the lines, I'm guessing two things about the recent IG replacement. PM IK said that former IG, Shoaib Dastagir, did a good job, but the buck stops with Buzdar and, ultimately, with himself.

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Which I think explains - this is my first guess - his removal was purely due to the perceived challenge to the CM's authority in the matter of the Lahore CCPO's appointment, nothing more. Which is unfortunate, but couldn't be helped.

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And the second guess, is related to how he linked the CCPO's appointment with his obvious frustration at not being able to tackle the "qabza mafia", land grabbers, due to police corruption and complicity. Take that with the CCPO's comments about policing the police.

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Not unreasonable, I'd say, to conclude that IK has been convinced that this is the man to clean up corrupt cops who facilitate and benefit from qabza gangs and other criminals. He's clearly an insensitive ass, but sometimes you have to live with that to get the job done.

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On local government elections - PM IK remains committed to devolution, using the KP model, all the way down to empowered and funded village councils. He also believes in directly elected mayors for large cities. The structure is ready, I believe, but timing will be tough

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Until there's performance to sell, contesting local elections won't be easy. If PTI was a strong, well-organized, grass-roots party, would've been different. But it isn't. IK said himself that success will be built on delivery. And that's been patchy in Punjab thus far.

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On Karachi: PM IK is putting his trust in the NCOC model, led by AU. Bring all stakeholders under the umbrella and address the key issues jointly: water, transportation, drainage, infrastructure. The structure is in place, tracked to deadlines, to finish in three years.

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I honestly feel he's underestimating both (a) the complexity & depth of the issues, and (b) the extent PPP will go to derail it for political advantage & blackmail. I would've said he's overestimating AU, but given the NCOC's Covid success, I guess that wouldn't be fair.

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Which brings me to the most topical of the subjects Moeed Pirzada @MoeedNj raised with PM @ImranKhanPTI: sex crimes and the recent horrific rape incident.

Remember IK talked about Kasur in his first speech after wining the elections? He revealed he'd asked for a report.

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The findings, which I don't believe were ever made public, were shocking. Much bigger, he shared, than we knew or even imagined. Pedophilia, pornography, rape were widespread. He mentioned Faisalabad in that context, too, fleetingly. But what happened there then?

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Moeed Pirzada didn't pursue it and IK didn't really elaborate beyond saying ulema, teachers, muazazzeen, were engaged. But these were organized crime mafias, operating with the support of local MPAs, who were systematically raping and even murdering children.

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Were they ever caught? Were those backing them ever caught? Were the kids ever provided counselling or even physical medical care? What about their families who'd been blackmailed? What HAPPENED in the end? Or did we just read the report and file it away?

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If it's true that nothing was ever actually done, the question is why not? And how do you sleep at night without those poor children haunting your dreams? And if something WAS done, if perpetrators were punished, why hasn't that been publicized?

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Because an exemplary, prompt, strong, meaningful response to Kasur would have sent the message, and may have prevented many more rapes and murders. Not just in Kasur but across the country, as a deterrent. Imagine if 50 rapists, 20 facilitators had been sentenced...

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Then to the question about rising sex crimes, against women and children, both girls and boys. Three measures suggested by PM Khan.

A sex offenders registry: good step, only as effective as how its used, of course, like any other law. Well implemented, it can work.

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I was horrified to hear IK say he supports public hanging. "Chowk mein latka de" is such a medieval notion. Normalizing, even glorifying, violence and making death a spectacle is so damaging for a society. Can't believe he'd think something like that, let alone say it.

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Exemplary and harsh punishment is appropriate for the most serious crimes, and rape & pedophilia certainly top the list, but the death penalty, even if you did support that (which I do not), must be delivered with great sadness, reflection, and dignity, as a last resort.

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It is an acknowledgement of society's failure to educate, protect, reform. It's certainly not to be made a spectacle, a celebration of revenge and victory, with hordes baying for blood. Punishment isn't about revenge. It's about accountability and reform.

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Now chemical castration: that's interesting. Looked it up and was surprised to see how many countries do practice that. Not just as punishment but as a voluntary act in return for less harsh sentences for repeat offenders. Haven't learned enough about it to say any more.

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I will say this, though. Deterrence is not only about the harshness of the punishment; it's the certainty of punishment. Even if it was 10 years of imprisonment, but you knew you were going to get caught, and spend 10 years in jail doing hard labour, you'd think twice.

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On the other hand, if the punishment is death or castration or amputation or stoning or whatever, but you know you can get away with it. With money, or influence, or power, or just by manipulating an archaic, broken, ineffectual justice system. Why would you care?

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Coming back to the "populist" label for a second. I honestly don't believe he's said this because he's trying to be populist here. IK has demonstrated, many times, that he can take unpopular and tough decisions when he's convinced he must.

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So he must believe these are effective and appropriate measures. Both public hanging and chemical castration, which they're apparently getting ready to introduce into law. In some ways, that's worse than if he were just posturing for popularity, which I don't think he is.

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Ultimately, there's no easy answer, no shortcuts. Police reform and an overhaul of the criminal justice system is needed. But that will take time and, more importantly, it will take a government with a larger mandate and a much stronger team than IK has right now.

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Finally, to the notion that sex crime is linked to fahaashi in society. I think I kinda get what he's trying to say. But fahaashi - promiscuity is the closest I can get by way of translation - is a problematically vague and subjective term.

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Setting boundaries for personal choice is what it inevitably comes down to. One person's promiscuous is another person's perfectly acceptable. Now, you can actually do the opposite and be effective: instead of restricting the negative, promote the positive.

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IK's idea to position Ertugrul as a positive competitor to Bollywood culture, for instance, to promote certain values, a culture, and pride in a shared history, is a simple measure. Too simple, some might argue, and not close to being enough. A good example, nonetheless.

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Combine more of that, with quality education, rule of law, and a culture that values morals over material wealth, and in five or six decades, you might undo all the damage that's been done. The rot is deep and it will need persistence and patience.

I'm done.

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