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27 January 2011 By Saeed Qureshi Imran Khan the Chief of
Pakistan
Insaf
Party (PTI) could have flashed,
like
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, as a glowing
star on the political horizon of Pakistan. But all
these years in the politics, he has remained a
non-starter. Once in a while, he appears on the stage,
frets and fumes, displays his tantrums and then
recedes into the oblivion to reappear all of a sudden
at a time of his own choice. He runs his political bandwagon
by fits and starts. He is sincere and possesses
unbounded passion and limitless energy to make a
difference but his fury and passion is invariably
short-lived. He suffers from a chronic malady of
inconsistency and conceptual bipolarity. He swerves
from extreme to extreme on both sides of his agenda.
He thunders like the charged clouds but then drifts
away after a strong but brief shower of hyperbolic
statements and high sounding propositions. Pakistan has ever remained in the
dire need of revolutionary persons because the
resolution of Pakistan's daunting problems is beyond
the competence of mediocre or self-serving individuals
and parties. In the prevailing chaos, hanging over
Pakistan since the demise of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,
Imran could have created a niche of a liberator, a
redeemer or a revolutionary for himself with a bag
full of meritorious accomplishments. He won the first and the last
cricket world cup in 1992 thanks to his managerial
skills and because of sudden favorable turn of events.
In 1994, he established Pakistan's first and only
cancer hospital,
Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research
Centre, bearing the name of his
mother Shaukat Khanum who died of cancer. It is a
charitable cancer hospital with 75 percent free care.
He was relatively young and
robust when he made his debut in Pakistan's politics,
by founding; his own political party -
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in
1996, under the slogan of "Justice, Humanity and Self
Esteem." He was then bubbling up with a brimming zeal
and reservoir of ideas for the betterment of Pakistan
and to change the destiny of the people of Pakistan.
But after almost over a decade of his presence in the
political arena, it simply looks as if he has been
merely dribbling and not directing the ball into the
goal post. Undoubtedly, he is thoroughly
honest and utterly unimpeachable. He is the repository
of a reputation for being incorruptible. He has lofty
ideals about Pakistan but he has failed to capture the
necessary instruments and use the right strategy to
translate these traits into concrete output. He talks very emphatically about
the rotten system of Pakistan as exhibited and
reflected from his stressful facial features and
restless body language during a debate, discussion or
talk shows. But beyond that, barring occasional
lashing outbursts at public rallies, he has failed to
craft himself into a firebrand leader who would keep
inspiring the masses. Indeed, he is a non-conformist
who shuns and is disgruntled about the style and
antics of the traditional political players. He
certainly looks distinct when it comes to the question
of principles and ethics. But somehow, he runs short
of mobilizing the masses a la Chavez of
Venezuela,
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan,
Mahathir
of Malaysia, Lenin of the former Soviet Union,
Nelson Mandela
of South Africa, Ahmed Ben Bella of
Algeria
and et al. Yet these are too lofty
personages to be compared with most of the leaders in
the third world countries, let along Imran Khan. But
at least a cue can be taken from them as to how a
momentous change can be brought about. Mr. Khan yearns
to cast himself in the role of a number one victor,
but finishes as a kind of a runner up or still far
behind. The pent up passion and gusto remains dormant
and unleashed in him once he feels he has lighted
himself by a robust public rhetoric or a forceful
delivery of his point of view at an electronic media
forum. There is no dearth of pious
platitudes and rosary plans formulated and doled out
by the best and the most of fertile minds that if
implemented would make the earth a much better place
to live. But what matters is that there must be
someone who can actually show these plans and
projections, the light of the day. The grandiose ideas and exalted
ideals that Imran Khan has professed on numerous
occasions are still like fables in the books. The
sincerity and earnestness drips from his every motion,
and words and utterances. However, his outpourings
have yet to trigger a salubrious change in the sterile
socio-political landscape of Pakistan. Is Pakistan turning into a civil
society because of a relentless
revolutionary movement
led by firebrands and visionaries like Imran Khan.? Is
there a re-awakening and pulsating awareness visible
somewhere? The answer to these questions is certainly
in the negative. So let us admit that Imran Khan has
his limitations. But are these the inlaid genetic
limitations that impel him to run fast for a time and
then relent and rest till he can recapture his breath
again? Or else, are these limitations
imposed by external forces and agents that bridle him
and keep him under the tab not to exceed the fixed
contours set for him? Is he hostage to the dreaded
exposure of sensitive information about his private
life which restrains him from going out of the way and
walk ahead defiantly? His
political philosophy
has been undergoing a ripening process since 1996 when
he turned a politician. At the outset, he was a
resolute proponent and a votary of the quick fix
tribal system of justice. At that time he discarded
democracy and institutional based governance.
Thereafter, he swung to support democracy and
representative form of government with a civil society
tag. So he has been experiencing and undergoing
changes and transformation of perceptions and precepts
with regard to his political doctrine. Khan supported General
Musharraf's military takeover in 1999, but denounced
his presidency a few months before the 2002 general
elections. He was elected MNA from
Mianwali, in 2002 elections. Once
in office, Khan voted in favor of the pro-Taliban
Islamist candidate for the prime minister in 2002.
Similarly, Imran Khan bitterly criticized Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif, but later joined him in 2008
against Musharraf. The Guardian portrays Imran
Khan as a person who "preaches democracy one day but
gives a vote to reactionary mullahs the next." The rest of the political legions
in Pakistan are a bit on the higher or lower side of
Imran Khan. He can certainly make a difference if he
breaks his self or externally imposed shackles and
embarks on a political clean-up and reformation
mission in the political wilderness of Pakistan with
unswerving courage and unmindful of the odds or
consequences. First of all he has to firmly
formulate and clarify his political goals and mandate
as to what he intends to do. Thereafter, he has to
stand unshakably and uncompromisingly by his ideals
and political philosophy. He should make himself a
steadfast defender and resolute exponent of his
manifesto and agenda for change. "Revolution
is not a garden party" said
Mao Zedong,
the legendary Chinese revolutionary leader and founder
of the
People's Republic of
China. If a leader appears and
disappears for fear of incarceration or succumbs under
pressures then better he may not talk big or pretend
to be an ideologue or a savior. Anyone including Imran
Khan who wants to rebuild Pakistan as a modern, and
stable state will have to wage a relentless war
against the corrupt and decadent system and its
unworthy protectors. A real national leader will have
to vie and wrestle with his political contenders in
order to excel. This is like fighting a
multi-directional battle. Pakistan needs ruthless
surgical overhaul of its entire body politic and
radical restructuring of its moribund socio-economic
edifice. Can Pakistan throw up such an undaunted,
absolutely upright and ruthless redeemer to rescue
Pakistani nation from a
perpetually trauma and unrelenting swindling by its
trashy leaders? Such a person should be an aggressive
runner and not a whimsical non-starter like Imran
Khan. Note: It is slightly revised
version of my article written some time ago Saeed Qureshi is a Dallas-based journalist
and a former diplomat. Email: qureshisa2003@ yahoo.com |
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