Imran Khan Is A Non-Starter
03 March 2016By Saeed Qureshi
Imran Khan the Chairman 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, throws 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, 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.
Finally if his marriage solemnized after a long spell of time can prove to be
disaster because of the wrong or unpalatable choice of a spouse, how can he
diagnose and cure the innumerable maladies afflicting the body-politic of
Pakistan. There seems to be a visible disarray and fragmentation in his party.
His Dharnas (sit-in) proved to be a strategy of catching the political
bandwagon from the wrong side. The reason is that the Dharnas can sustain for
a short period of time but then turn out to be an exercise in fatigue and
futility for both the torch bearers and the followers. Besides a whole horde
of opportunists were allowed to enter the party thus polluting its pristine
mandate and disfiguring its glitter. This is exactly what is happening to
Imran Khan and his party PTI presently.
Note: This article was written some time back. It is
being reproduced with the timely changes.
The writer is a senior journalist, former editor of Diplomatic Times and a
former diplomat. This and other articles by the
writer can also be read at his blog www.uprightopinion.com.
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EsinIslam.Com
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