Senior Leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Zulfi Bukhari has responded to the most rated questions in media about the blunders made by Imran Khan’s government during its four year tenure while addressing the SOAS University of London on the topic of “Democracy in Crisis” organised by SOAS Pakistan Discussion Forum in London.
Responding to what perceived as the biggest blunder of Imran Khan while being in power, he said retaining Usman Buzdar in Punjab was inevitable due to lack of political options in the biggest province of Punjab.
“There was Aleem Khan group and other power groups. There would have been a war within the PTI if Buzdar was removed and Imran Khan did the right thing by sticking to him, to avoid the war within,” Zulfi said while defending the move of the PTI chief.
“I don’t think he was a good chief minister and was able to perform and deliver. By the time calls against Buzdar grew after two years, it was too late and changing him after a year or two would have made the post a revolving door. Nobody would say Usman Buzdar was a good decision but we supported his decisions.”
Zulfi condemned the May 9 mayhem saying “We have condemned all forms of violence, especially the attack on Jinnah House which has a sacred value. We have always stood against violence. Ordinary people say things in emotions. It’s the job of the leadership to positively tunnel their emotions towards a democratic process to bring about a real change. We are the biggest stakeholder being the biggest political party and we will get more losses than others in any such scenario.”
The PTI leader acknowledged the mistakes made during their four-year rule, emphasizing that a different leadership style would prevent a recurrence of those errors.
He highlighted the presence of a new breed of leaders, distinct from those who abandoned the party during challenging times.
Bukhari expressed the PTI’s willingness to engage in dialogue with all political parties, including the PML-N and PPP, to pave the way forward. However, he noted that the PML-N viewed PTI as a rival in Punjab, hindering meaningful discussions, while the PPP had no such reservations in the province.
