Bilawal as PM?

Is this another fawning article priming the field for Bilawal’s becoming prime minister? No. Is this an article defending dynasties or Pakistani elites’ entitlement? No. Do I want us to ignore or discount the obvious privilege associated with political brand names? Of course not. Would I want us to be blind to the real centres of power in our country? Nope. But I want us to give Bilawal an objective fighting chance.

Set aside his last name for a few minutes. It’s hard, but try. It’s also not fair given how elite privilege works in our country, but still, try. Consider he’s just your average rich well-educated young politician. Consider then the way he has handled his office as our foreign minister, especially his responses to acerbic questions and snarky barbs from our neighbouring country’s press and politicians. His wit, way with words, and ability to think and speak straight under pressure disarmed Jaishankar at the UN and helped Pakistan in Goa. With his responses, he has demonstrated that he is better than more senior, seasoned politicians whose international faux pas have been far more embarrassing.

So he’s got talent. But talent without values isn’t worth much. Leaders we elect to high office should have more, and Bilawal does have that something more. The bottom-line of Bilawal’s politics is its courage and grace. Think of a dispute in your family or someone you know’s family and think of the lengths to which people have gone for the sake of settling scores. Now think of someone whose loved one was murdered, and the extent to which they went for vengeance. I can think of years’ long bloody feuds. I’m seeing some feuds play out because of hurt male egos, and we all know how that gets.

But I cannot forget a 19-year-old Bilawal telling us that democracy is the best revenge. Bilawal didn’t ask his supporters to burn down Pakistan when he could have, and his supporters would have thought he had cause – we’ve lost enough Bhuttos for a lifetime. He chose differently. He worked towards building a system where it’s harder to get rid of a democratically elected government. We’re far away from being a liberal democracy but we’re on the path there in part because a 19-year-old spread the message – albeit with the advice and support of his family and political party – that being strategic is better than being stupid; and that Pakistan Khappay is much better than any alternative. Perhaps a nearly 70-year-old recently deposed prime minister has yet to learn this, and has suffered greatly because of his own misplaced sense of grandiosity.

Choosing to continue a journey into Pakistani politics when any other career and any other country would have been far less painful takes courage. It also takes courage to do so when enemies who killed so many in his family and political party were and are in the field, menacing and ready. It takes a certain kind of guts to choose between two tough options, between what is extremely hard, right, and possibly foolish (Pakistan) and what is slightly less hard but also right (life anywhere else), and Bilawal chose us.

Character is revealed through choices. And Bilawal’s choices have by and large been sounder, wiser, braver, and more strategic than those of other similarly situated politicians. Sure, he has made mistakes, who hasn’t? His Urdu could be better. His rain logic broke the internet. He doesn’t exude our formerly handsome prime minister’s populist confidence, and the average urban male youth has trouble relating to him because Bilawal probably spent more time reading history books than playing street cricket. But we have learned by now that cricket skills and handsome-index get us mega monster prime ministers who burn the rule book when they don’t win. We need leaders without that kind of arrogance; the kind made of brave but steady stuff. Bilawal has that and should be our next prime minister.

The writer is a lawyer, and an assistant professor at IBA Karachi. She tweets: @MoruShah