"Rough waters are the true test of leadership. In calm seas every ship has a good captain." (Swedish proverb)
In Firdausi’s Shahnameh, King Gustasap sets up his son Asfandyar to fight against, lose to and be slain at the hands of mighty Rustam.
Khan Abdul Wali Khan never wished anything of the sort for his son Asfandyar Wali Khan, the current president of the ruling Awami National Party (ANP) in the NWFP, Pakistan.
In fact, till he himself was active in politics, the elder Khan kept Asfandyar Khan away from the party affairs. Perhaps he was acutely aware that unlike Asfandyar of the Persian mythology, his elder son had not bathed in the pool of invincibility and at best would be lackluster at the helm.
Fast-forward to 2005 and an internal coup within the ANP toppled Begum Nasim Wali Khan, the party’s de facto leader from 1990 till then, and thrust the burden of total - de facto and de jure -leadership upon Asfandyar Khan.
With Wali Khan bedridden, Begum Wali being widely unpopular and the political waters calm, he appeared to be a good captain at the time. We were in, though, for a rude awakening come 2008.
Ever since Asfandyar Khan took the now infamous helicopter flight, after narrowly escaping a suicide bombing, he has been an utter disappointment to the people of NWFP.
Never known for his political acumen, personal charisma, intellect, oratory or inspirational qualities, his only qualification for the job was his lineage.
He claimed - and opted - to carry the mantle of his father and grandfather, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who had faced bullets and batons in almost a century-long struggle, without once appearing unnerved.
Whether they were attempts at his life by the Pashtun Maoists, firing at his Liaquat Bagh rally in Z A Bhutto era or the 1988 bombing of Badshah Khan’s funeral procession in Jalalabad, the late Wali Khan inspired confidence in the party’s rank and file.
Among the Pashtun leaders on the Afghan side of the Durand Line, the late Presidents Daud Khan and Dr. Muhammad Najibullah stand out for leading from the front.
Dr.Najibullah surprised his friends and foes alike when he rushed to lead the Jalalabad garrison after it came under a massive attack by the Mujahidin in March 1989.He prevailed! In 1990, he took to the airwaves within a couple of hours after the attempted coup was launched against him, knowing full well that the Kabul television station was under attack by the air force rebels led by Gen. Shahnawaz Tanai.
In the western hemisphere, Winston Churchill remains the gold standard of leadership style and conduct in wartime, against which the present-day leaders are measured. The civil and military leaders emulate his wartime speeches and frequent visits to the frontline till date.
General Ashfaq Kiyani’s visits to the civilian population in Mingora and Peshawar, and multiple morale-boosting speeches to the soldiers in South Waziristan and the policemen in Peshawar, are in same honorable tradition.
ANP itself has glorious examples from its rank and file, who have been sacrificing lives and property consistently for the last two years. And among leaders, from an aging Afzal Khan Lala to the martyred young lawmaker Alamzeb Khan, the party has displayed courage, which is unmatched in the recent Pashtun-Afghan history.
Bashir Ahmed Bilour and Mian Iftikhar Hussain - the provincial Senior and Information Ministers, respectively - rushing to console and condole with the people of the NWFP are the brave new face of the ANP. But even they cannot answer the question being asked by people of the NWFP: where is the president of the ANP?
The party stalwarts, workers and common people alike, are baffled by this lack of leadership on his part. The party ministers are struggling to answer the media questions regarding his whereabouts. His clandestine visits to Europe and then to Malaysia at the height of the Swat crisis were a huge embarrassment to the party.
There have been rumors about his health, within and outside the party circles. Party leaders themselves have complained of having difficulty reaching him even by phone.
Chief Minister of the NWFP, Amir Haider Hoti, apparently is putting up an effort but is clearly out of his league in dealing with the existential threat to the province. Statements by him and several of his lawmakers pointing the finger of blame in five different directions suggest that they are completely clueless.
Of course no one wants Asfandyar Khan to risk his life in a reckless manner and there is no doubt that a suicide attack can shatter anyone’s resolve and potentially cause post-traumatic stress disorder. But at a juncture when the people of the NWFP, especially Peshawar, are facing such bombings daily, he is not just anyone.
He is the leader for whom the party constitution was changed to allow him a third term as the president. The people of the NWFP gave Asfandyar Khan an electoral support that even his father, uncle, grandfather and granduncle did not get in any election since 1937.
People of the NWFP and the tribal areas need to hear from him directly. Whether it is through periodic high security personal visits or frequent televised addresses, he must guide the masses. Absentee leadership is sending wrong message to both his friends and foes. In a war where symbols of strength like GHQ are being targeted a perception of weakness shatters the morale of the nation.
If health or psychological issues are at play here then he needs to come clean and take the party cadres into confidence. In western democracies it is a common practice for an important leader to make his health records public and retiring from a public office on account of health reasons is perfectly understandable.
Inaction and silence is not an option for Asfandyar Khan at a time when people need him the most. He must use this relative lull before the next barrage of bombings and must come forth to:
- Clearly pinpoint and identify the enemy. If a foreign hand is at play, he must expose it
- Spell-out the war goals for his party and the people at large
- Support the civilian and military forces
- Spearhead the reconstruction effort in the areas where the enemy has been routed
Only a dignified and sophisticated reach-out effort on Asfandyar Khan’s part - with a judicious use of electronic and print media - can clear the fog of confusion engulfing the province.
The NWFP and indeed Pakistan is at total war. Total war demands a leader’s total commitment; there is no room for partial leaders in such times. Asfandyar Khan’s only options now are to lead from the front or make room for his replacement.
(Author teaches and practices medicine at the University of Florida and can be reached at mazdaki@me.com)
