They say it is lonely at the top. The power pyramid in Islamabad tends to flatten a bit at the top — a plat­e­au of sorts — when power is slightly diffused at the summit. It however sharpens into a pointy end if the person atop mo­­nopolises it in his or her person. It is a strange and fluid matrix, this power pattern, and it shape-shifts with personalities, situations and circumstances. Prime Minister Imran Khan today finds himself situated in a peculiar cross-section of go­­v­­­ernance latitude and political longitude.

The awesome power of the government juggernaut is at his disposal. He can wield it at will. Well, almost at will. He presides over endless meetings, chairs elevated forums like the Cabinet and National Security Committee, travels across the provinces to supervise governance issues and traipses to foreign capitals to argue the country’s case. For him, and for all prime ministers, power is an expansive ocean that stretches as far as he can see and beyond. Yet, at the heart of it all, the circle of power is small. Really small.

Within Islamabad’s Red Zone, success is defined in terms of proximity to this inner-most circle around the prime minister. Imran Khan has always had a close circle around him but the people inside this circle have kept on rotating over the years. In the period 2013-2018, the three men who dominated this inner circle were Jahangir Tareen, Asad Umar and Shah Mehmood Qureshi. However, once he became the prime minister, state power started to exert its influence on Imran Khan and the circle around him tightened. In government, there were new rules of access, new constraints of time and new gatekeepers. The first manifestation of this new reality happened when Naeem ul Haq (late), Khan’s closest confidante, was stopped at the gates of Banigala by the PM’s security detail. Personal relationships now had to pass through state filters.

It didn’t help matters that all three of Khan’s key men — J Tareen, SM Qureshi and A Umar — did not get along with each other. In a high stakes and high ego environment, this powder keg of competing and conflicting personalities had to suffer casualties. Shah Mehmood was the first to find himself out of the inner-most circle. A few months later Asad Umar was also out of this space after being replaced as finance minister. And recently Tareen also experienced an exit from this circle. Once you’re out, you don’t have the access you want, you don’t have the influence you need and you don’t have the power that comes from the reflected glory of the leader himself. For those used to revelling in the power of proximity, being out of the inner circle can hurt more than mere mortals can imagine.

But who replaced these three men? Ah, here’s where things get interesting.

PTI has never really attempted to hide its internal wars. Political bloodletting was a norm. Once in power, the fights mutated into more fights on more fronts between more factions. Today the old guard ‘nazriyatis’ speak against the newer political mercenaries, the elected ones rant against the technocrats, the political leaders grumble about the bureaucrats and the ostracized lot complain about everyone.

There is yet another layer of complexity. The top people in PTI — in terms of profile, loyalty, electability — became cabinet ministers. In normal times normal political parties throw up key people who coalesce around the prime minister and become his key political strategists. But these are not normal times and PTI clearly is struggling to find a new normal. As the pressure of governance amplified and the perception of incompetence began to solidify, ministers came under tremendous pressure to produce something that could be shown as ‘performance’ to the people, and more importantly to the prime minister. No one wanted to lose a ministry. So they doubled down in their respective ministries. Those who desperately wanted to be in the inner-most circle now found themselves buried under files trying to cope with performance anxiety. For these ministers, these ministries became silos and their access to the prime minister became referenced in terms of their work in these silos.

Khan was looking after his regime, but who was looking after Khan?

According to those who are witnessing the game inside the power corridors, the prime minister’s inner circle has, over the months, shrunk to an alarming level. A number of problematic things are happening because important information, advice and political wisdom are being made to go through multiple filters. One example of such fallout is the prime minister’s needless hostility towards the media. He is not being given the proper contextualized picture and the media is always a handy villain. Similarly, the framing of the sugar and wheat crisis has also raised multiple questions. Everybody is so busy doing things, nobody is taking a step back to think things through.

Many people are indeed performing well. Special Adviser to the PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza is one such example. He’s leading the battle against coronavirus commendably. Ali Zaidi, Federal Minis­ter for Maritime Affairs, is also getting stuff done through his proactive appro­a­ch and ‘can do’ attitude. Asad Umar has bounced back and contributed significantly to combating inflation since the last month. Hammad Azhar has also done an admirable job at the FATF. But these are fragmented streams of performances that are failing to convert into a raging river of success. Tactical victories appear unable to change the strategic perception that this government is struggling to govern.

The personality composition of the inner-most circle continues to change. Asad Umar was tossed in the wilderness last year but today he is back in the game. Jahangir Tareen will also be welcomed back sooner rather than later because of the indispensable value that he brings to Imran Khan. Shah Mehmood Qureshi may also find greater significance as foreign minister at a time of tremendous regional turmoil. The greater problem then is not who is a member of the inner circle but how this inner circle is managed in order for it to produce the strategic momentum that Imran Khan requires at this point.

They say it is lonely at the top.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2020