THE PTI is a party of dreamers. As expected, it has managed to rekindle an old fantasy that had been endangered by all these practitioners of dynastic rule and family politics in the country. It is now perfectly fine for a non-privileged individual here to have grand thoughts about landing a ‘pivotal’ job in the ruling scheme of things. All this individual needs to do is to catch the eye of the prime minister who is the kingmaker.

A party’s dream is a journalist’s nightmare. Just who is this man who has replaced a character as vibrant in the role of chief minister as Shahbaz Sharif? Who carried out the search for this utterly unknown soul who is technically in charge of operations in Punjab? What worldly — or as rumours go, spiritual — means have been applied for this discovery in, Imran Khan’s words, most backward or pasmanda district in the province?

Sardar Usman Buzdar, the new chief minister of the most powerful Punjab, is still a mystery to the media in Lahore. And he will take time revealing his traits. No one in the media saw him coming, and in that sense at least, this is truly a new beginning for the province. The information collected about him is still, by and large, sketchy and, in many cases, needs to be substantiated.

The sources of information are, one more time, mainly your district correspondents, complemented by the southerners who have trespassed on the Punjab capital with their distant-sounding surnames. Such as Buzdar, literally the one who keeps or tends the goats, a shepherd, in case you cannot curb your tendency to greet the PTI crop of provincial lawmakers with an angular remark.

Who is this man who has replaced a character as vibrant in the role of chief minister as Shahbaz Sharif?

Usman Buzdar is the son of the Buzdar sardar, who has just been gheraoed by fellow tribesmen out to use this opportunity to assert themselves politically. They are not quite thrilled by the ‘backward’ label that has been attached to them; they are joined in their celebrations by people in southern Punjab who are outside their clan but who view this occasion as some kind of a coup against upper and central Punjab.

Those who represented the Takht Lahore have for once been tamed. So what if the turnaround has been facilitated by the fact that the PML-N did manage to hold on to its territory in parts of the province, and by the sheer force of the number of seats won by the PTI in southern Punjab? Many of those with their origins in the Seraiki wasaib are ready to quickly protest against any big-city media biases.

The southerners have not taken ‘unfair’ criticism of a routine chief ministerial visit to Mian Channu lying down. Be assured, whatever angles the journalists might be contemplating, the coverage is going to be countered with the same allegations based on theories about how certain media outlets were prejudiced against the PTI and how many had this discriminatory attitude towards areas away from Lahore and its GT Road elite.

Southern Punjab was promised much more than a magical appearance of a chief minister from its midst. It was promised a province. Do we need one now, now that we have put a man on the most coveted Punjab throne? Whether Sardar Buzdar can perform feats which will decrease the sense of deprivation in the south will only be known once he starts to meet challenges on the ground. Until then, there is very little by way of introduction that can be offered to those intrigued by his steep climb. All speculations and projections in the meantime will have to be built on how his benefactor and mentor Imran Khan goes about doing things.

Two types stand out in Imran Khan’s strategy book. One is employed to frustrate and to hold the fort until the opportune moment arrives and some real action can be initiated — with apologies to those irked by the nonstop cricket analogies, someone modelled on Imran Khan the batsman during the 1992 World Cup tournament. His job was to hang around and make sure the team had enough manpower and sufficient time to hit out in the slog overs. Many in the knowledgeable crowd think that the same role has now been assigned to Sardar Usman Buzdar. The other is the pinch hitter.

The chief minster’s quiet, by some observations submissive, demeanour does appear to corroborate that he has been asked to play this night watchman-like part right now. All to the dismay of those who had every reason to expect a blazing start from a party that has promised so much and which has been whetting the appetite of so many for so long. There is great danger lurking around the PTI. If the latter does not appear to large sections of the people to be taking sufficient initiative to tackle problems it had been for so long blaming on other parties and groups, Prime Minister Imran Khan will expose himself and be attacked by the same forces he has been trying to awaken with his ‘new Pakistan’ slogan.

Take the ‘revolt’ by a couple of civil servants so early into the PTI’s term. The senior official who refused to work with the new railways minister and the police officer who wouldn’t say sorry to a Pakpattan dignitary were both potential IK allies who have, unfortunately, featured in incidents that any party could do without at the start of its tenure, let alone the ugly instances marking the beginning of the much anticipated PTI stint.

It is crucial for the PTI to open up on a confident note. The best possible beginning for it in Punjab would be one where it sheds all notions of entering the fray led by a night watchman or an attrition player. The most effective message would be that Sardar Buzdar is not there to keep the seat warm for ‘the rightful claimant’. He should function without any thought for his role being limited in any way. Or if he is hurried by the stars, let his be a pinch-hitting role. He must set the pace for the sake of a PTI which is here to do a job.

The writer is Dawn’s resident editor in Lahore.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2018