Imran Khan says lack of rule of law deprived Pakistan of achieving potential

PTI, Nov 29, 2021, 8:26 AM IST

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the capture of Pakistan’s resources by the elite class and the absence of the rule of law were the main causes of underdevelopment of his country.

Khan made the remarks in an online interview with American Muslim scholar Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, who is the president of Zaytuna College in California and frequently writes on different topics, state-run Associate Press of Pakistan reported.

”The problem was the elite capture of resources which deprived the majority of proper healthcare, education and justice… Lack of rule of law is the reason why Pakistan has not achieved its potential,” Khan said in the interview, which was aired on Pakistan Television on Sunday.

He said that no society could ever achieve its potential if there was no rule of law and the biggest problem in the developing countries has been the absence of rule of law and discriminatory laws for the rich and the poor.

”Merit is also associated with rule of law. If you do not have meritocracy in a society, you have this elite which is spoiled, rich and which does not strive and struggle, and they sit on the main positions… Countries disintegrate because of a decadent elite. People do not decay, it is the elite that decays,” he said.

He told the interviewer that he wanted to make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state based on the concept of the state of Medina by the Prophet.

”We want to base this country on two principles. One it should be a welfare state and humane state, which takes care of its bottom strata of society, and second rule of law,” he said.

Talking about the climate crisis, Khan said the environment should be treated as sacred. The biggest environmental disaster in the world called climate change was because human beings had deviated from the basic principle of protecting the earth, he maintained.

Khan said whatever the humans would do today would ultimately have an impact on the future generations.

He said that most of the leadership in Muslim countries that came up through the political system was divorced from faith, so they came in for power and made compromises for staying in power and gaining personal benefits.

He added that the politicians were looked down upon because they claimed to help the people but on the contrary, they helped themselves.

Khan said that his government has started the greatest welfare program in the country’s history to help the poor.