Adil Najam
Flying in from London to Islamabad, I bumped into Imran Khan on the plane. There he was, sitting a couple of rows ahead of me, reading The News, with his own picture on its front page (meeting Nawaz Sharif in London). I had not yet seen the paper, nor followed that days events in London (I was flying in from Amsterdam where I had been in meetings all day). We exchanged a few pleasantries, said nice things about what we had been up to since we had last met in Chicago just about a year ago (I had reported in detail on that here).
I must say, I did not fully grasp everything he said until later after I landed in Islamabad and first saw his supporters and TV cameras lined up at the airport, and then every news channel covering his press conference in London, and its political implications. In our short conversation he pretty much covered the exact same points I saw him presenting on TV,with pretty much the same passion. I guess he had come fresh from the press conference. Since all of that is now in the news already, I will not repeat it. The one thing I did ask him about were rumors about his ‘patch up’ with the MQM leading to the lifting of the ban on his entry into Sindh. Readers would remember those rumors surfacing everywhere, including on ATP, a few days ago. He shrugged those away as nonsense and just rumors.
My own sense from this very brief discussion chat was that:
(a) he does seem very serious abut taking on MQM Chief Altaf Hussain,
(b) that he fully realizes the seriousness of what he is doing, and
(c) he seems to be doing this out of personal conviction much more than political opportunism.
I may turn out to be wrong, but my first impression was that the earnestness with which he spoke about what he was doing and why that cannot be easily faked. This, then, seems not to be a story that will fizzle away easily. Not if Imran can help it.
If this is, in fact, so then Pakistan politics will continue to become even more interesting than it already is. ‘Party’ politics may just come back into limelight, but not ways one had expected. If indeed there are to be elections in Pakistan soon then the impact of this tussle could go well beyond defining what happens to just Imran Khan and the MQM.
By the way, as it turned out it was an interesting PIA fight to be on. Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao boarded soon after me. As did Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan (returning, I believe from the WTO meeting in Geneva). They both greeted Imran with graciously, and briefly, and then then nearly all of us made teh best of the overnight flight by going off to sleep. Of course, I first watched the ‘Tribute to a Legend’ show on filmstar Muhammad Ali on the PIA channel.
P.S. In case you wonder, no, I did not speak to either of the Ministers. I do not know either of them, and would not have known what to say anyhow, especially if either of them had seen my own most recent musings on the political happenings in Pakistan.
Some reservations and concerns. Imran has opened himself to multiple fronts. He has challenged rascals in the MQM, the religious thugs of Lal masjid and therefore confronted the military – the master puppeteer. His friendly gestures to Nawaz may hurt him in the long run and as his popularity grows, other secular forces (PPP etc.) trying to extract favors from the military rulers will view him as a strong adversary. With passing time Imran may well become a man marked for physical elimination.
He can broaden his base through secular nationalistic parties in Baluchiatan, NWFP and Sindh. In fact such a coalition may prove to be more cohesive for the country. But let us first hope that he survives…
I think Imran has a larger than life image in Pakistan and his involvement in the dirty politics of this country will do neither him nor the country any good. We need more projects like Shaukat Khanum and his under completion college in Mianwalli than his wasting with Altaf Hussain, Benazir and Nawaz Sharif. I fear soon his taking on MQM will lead to Karachi vs Lahore rivalry or Mohajir vs rest of Pakistan. Already we see such suggestions in today’s Daily Times “Musharraf hated because he is a mohajir: US academic”
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20076\15\story_15-6-2007_pg7_25
Only time will tell how dedicated and earnest Imran Khan will turn out to be. Experiance and history tells us that the best of men have succumbed to the political willy nilly atmosphere that seems to be part and parcel of the Pakistani kaliedoscope. Back door deals, odd political bed fellows, retracting statements, befriending verbally sworn enemies etc are an integral part of our political system.
Will Imran change that ?
For further developments , we must wait and watch.
I met Imran Khan last year during his fund raising dinner in NJ, USA. I must say he is exactly what I expected and much more. He brings soo much energy, passion, and truth to his existance. I pray and hope he succeeds in his amibition because Pakistan really need leaders like him.
think we should support Imran Khan because he is after someone who has murdered so many people
before and now on 12th May 2007 Altaf Hussain is suspected for killings of 42 innocent peaceful protestors.So if he is innocent he should prove his innocence in the court and i think we should honour and accept the decision of the court.
Though, I whole heartedly support what Imran is doing it is a small step and Altaf is a symptom of a larger problem but I guess we must start the journey and if we can not then at the least offer support to anyone who does take bold actions.
Pakistani political parties, leadership, and state instituions are guilty of naked abuse of power. People of Pakistan (WE) have tolerance of injustice that borders criminal behavior.
I was beginning to think and give benefit of doubt that Altaf and MQM have gone past the era of violence but their propensity of violence has not decreased a bit as violence of May 12th demonstrated.
Having said this let us not be bias towards MQM, this tendency for violence is present in each and every political party (another good example of PV is JI and their student wing IJT)
I sincerely hope that Imran can make a dent. He has so far demonstrated that he has the political integrity and vision.
Ayesha:
I think Imran Khan’s record so far suggests that he deserves a bit less skepticism than that. He has already spurned two opportunities for becoming part of a government. The first was when NS offered him a seat adjustment. The second one came with Mush. Imran could have become PM then. If he were just like any other opportunistic politician, he would have availed these chances, especially the second one. Yes, we haven’t seen him in power, and he does have many flaws, but how many people have let go of a chance to become PM for their principles?
nashus:
We need to come out of the “don’t get your hands dirty in politics and stick to philanthropy if you want to contribute” mode of thinking. If better people don’t come into politics, how will things improve?
Well I dont think that Imran is taking this step on moral grounds alone. For him it is a big opportunity to court voters as Musharraf is seemed to firmly support MQM and he want to cash Anti Musharraf masses.
No doubt that Altaf and its millitant wings are menece but what about about those police officers who killed hundreds of MQM activist in fake encounter. If he is doing all that on moral ground only then he should also file a case against a “government of benazir”. What about incocent ppl killed in Baluchistan during army opeartion. I think it is more of politics.
Sidhas,
It was JI and JIT whose terror in the sindh cities and university campuses gave MQM the momentum they needed to have ultimate supremacy in urban sindh. Yes agencies were there to help but the popular support actually came as a revulsion to JI’s tacit terror. Even today JIT is involved in those activities. Just four years ago a sindhi student, an only child of his parents, was beaten to death by JIT at sindh medical college in karachi because his group ignored JIT’s warning to not to celebrate their graduation from the med school as they considered it unislamic. [Liaqat Baloch is a king of ethos these days but just ask anyone from lahore what he was doing in the 70s and 80s on PU campus. Both him and "Hafiz" Salman Butt]. This happened at a massive scale in the 70s and 80s until people saw MQM as their savior. Of course MQM itself turned into a frankenstein with no one to stop them. I think in Imran they met have a 5000 pound gorilla who is effective where, in MQM’s context, it matters the most; in London, where altaf resides and where there are no secotr incharge or unit incharge men with gunmen to proetct him. British media and courts would be less than kind to Altaf with even a fraction of the atrcities he has commited as evidence against him. I am a karachite and I say enough is enough. Enough of Jamat Islami’s unique brand of terror and enough of MQM’s ruthless terror.
Nawaz Sharif has already declared support for Imran in his legal battle against Altaf. Benazir should take a similar position.
BB’s support will not make the case any stronger but it will be a strong political statement to MQM and the rest of he world.
George Galloway in the house of commons
(for Imran Khan´s cause)
http://www.moveforjustice.org/News/tabid/60/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/205/Default.aspx
http://www.moveforjustice.org/News
here is the link again…
Just a brief comment here
Whether Imran Khan turn out to be good or bad for Pakistan we definately dont need Altaf Hussain, Benazir and Nawaz Sharif for Pakistan any more….They are all bad news for Pakistan as they have proven over and over again..
God help Pakistan
Here is Imran on BBC Hard Talk
http://tinyurl.com/yq48wb
I think it will be very unfortunate if people of pakistan continue o be skeptical of imran Khan. He is honest, passionate, hard working, sincere and has tremendous leadership qualities. He feels for the poor people of pakistan and will never comprmise on priciples. His record stands for this. How many rich politicians, generals and pirs have spend the time effort or money to built hospitals and educational intitutes for the poor of this country like imran did? I can only hope that educated young people will be at the fore front of his political party. It pleases me that there are no so called “big names” in his party who will waste no time in switching their alliances. The people of karachi won’t be fooled for long and it is just a matter of time when pir of london and his crooks will be exposed to the full.
I see Imran as the only hope for our future and will wholeheartedly support him in his mission.I would like to know how Adil view him as a political leader. He needs good people to help him formulate an economic and political agenda for his party.
sorry for the repetiton..hope it works now…
the correct link to
George Galloway in the house of commons
(for Imran Khan´s cause)
http://tinyurl.com/2zpftp
today imran khan is accusing altaf hussain of being a murderer. in 1996, imran khan blamed ppp government for a bomb blast which killed 7 people at his hospital:
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1996/09My96.html
“…At a news conference at the newly opened Scotch Corner office of his Tehrik-i-Insaaf, he maintained that since the government itself was involved in the blast it could not conduct an inquiry into the incident…”
today, imran khan is calling for the overthrow of musharraf government and to this end, he is enlisting the help of nawaz sharif. in 2000, imran khan welcomed the supreme court decision which legitimised general musharraf’s coup against nawaz sharif.
after quitting politics in 1929, jinnah left for vilayath where he took to practicing law. he returned in 1934 and 13 years later, he was able to conjure a country out of thin air due to the support of largely jahil and unpurh muslim awam whose zubaan jinnah could barely speak. bhutto joined ayub’s cabinet in 1957 and 10 years later he went on to form the most popular political party in pakistan. note that bhutto’s tenure in ayub’s cabinet was 2 years longer than shaukat aziz’s to date tenure in musharraf government. imran khan has been in the public eye for 36 years last 11 of which in politics. in the next election it will be an achievement for imran khan to win a seat from his home city of lahore.
imran khan’s yateem status in pakistani politics is a testament to political acumen of pakistani awam which is smart enough to see through hypocrisy of a man especially one who lectures on morality and yet cannot acknowledge the existence of his own daughter – a man who calls altaf hussain a murderer while openly hobnobbing with bin laden supporter who have killed 700+ army jawans.
says something that imran khan is the most popular political personality on this website.
I would love to think that Imaran Khan’s action will bring fruit and it will change the political process in Pakistan but we have to look back on how it all started. People were killed then Imran was banned from entering Sindh; which in turn forced him to take action. Now both MQM and Imran Khan are blaming each other and I dont see any other end than a compromise later for “Political reasons”. I hope I am wrong.
King_faisal has raised good points. And, I don’t agree with the observation above that Imran Khan could have become the PM under Mush if he wanted to. This is a blatant misrepresentation of facts. Imran Khan was an ardent supporter of 1999 coup and remained a Mush loyalist until 2002 in the hope that he would gain power under the military umbrella. And, when Mush dumped him for the Chaudrys and other rag tag opportunists, Imran turned against the one man rule.
Records of his public statements are an open statement. Frankly this is hypocritical in the typical Pakistani politicos style.
And, a man who was condemning brown sahebs (and other blah blah) after his conversion to the cause of Islam and desi-ethos (having lived a life of a playboy) our ‘leader’ returned with Jemima Khan! And, he does not have the courage to accept a young girl as his daughter when all evidence points to this fact. This is crass, low-life behaviour. If anyone has doubts, please check that Sita White’s daughter’s guardian is Jemima Khan- at least Jemima had the humanity to take care of this unfortunate girl.
How can I be a party of this enthusiasm about Imran Khan and his heroism. He is at best suited for the Pakistan Cricket Board and doing charity work. His limited abilities will impose another NS on this hapless nation.
Who is paying for the litigation against Altaf Hussain? If it is Imran then his money is needed for SK Hospital and if it is someone else then there should be more transparency.
Great idea to escape the 51 degrees heat in Pakistan for lobbying with UK politicians under the pretext of some non-starter litigation!
I find this drama another chapter in Imran Khan’s hypocritical public persona!
Note: I am not an MQM supporter – that is a curse and needs to be fought at a political level in Karachi and elsewhere in the country not by seeking the support of British MPs.
In late 1980′s ppp student wing PSF as involved in heavy battles with MQM. Najeeb(PSF) leader abducted hundreds of APMSO workers and it was Asif Nawaz who broke a deal between MQM and PPP. I dont support MQM but just banning a political party will not curb violence in country where agencies are no different from robbers. One has to see both sides of story.
Imran Khan, no doubt, was a wonderful cricketer but even as a captain of the team he was an autocratic kind of a person. In cricket we can afford to have an autocrat as a captain because the scope is very limited. He was an all-rounder and he knew well about bowling, batting and fielding. That’s why he handled the team very well and we managed to win the 1992 world cup. But compared to cricket the scope of politics and statesmanship is very broad. You cannot possibly know everything about economy, external and internal policy, health and education, management and planning, and host of other issues. That’s why it is imperative that you must listen to your advisors, debate the issues in the parliament and reach a decision based on consensus. But being an autocrat, Imran Khan lacks these qualities. It is always easy to sit in the opposition and criticize the government to your heart’s content but when you are at the helm of affairs then you have a big responsibility on your shoulders and the fate of millions of people depend on the decisions you make.
How many good decisions have Imran Khan taken since he joined politics? If he had some foresight and knowledge of Pakistani politics he should have joined Muslim League or People’s Party. But instead he established his own Tehrik-e-Insaaf and won only a single seat in the parliament. In one of his interviews he said that he is following the footsteps of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who single-handedly managed to mobilize the people, laid the foundations of People’s Party and won the elections of 1970 in West Pakistan. But before doing all this Bhutto had a lot of achievements to his credit. He worked at various ministerial positions in Ayub’s cabinet then served as a foreign minister and finally jumped off the sinking ship of Ayub Khan. What achievements did Imran Khan had to his credit before laying down the foundations of Tehrik-e-Insaaf? Winning the 1992 world cup and building the cancer hospital. These are big achievements in cricket and social work but not in politics and statesmanship.
Tehrik-e-Insaaf, strictly speaking, is not a political party. It is a one-man-show. There is a big problem with our politicians that they stress a lot on democracy and general elections but when it comes to democratic structure and intra-party elections in their political parties they behave like autocrats and handle their political parties like hereditary fiefdoms. Fact of the matter is that our politicians only pay lip-service to the cause of democracy and democratic norms. All they care about is power. There is no spirit of public service. When their political opponents are in the office they use all means at their disposal, fair or foul, to bring them down. Why can’t they be patient and wait for their turn? There is something called professional courtesy, why do our politicians lack it? If the five years time period for holding general elections is too long, would it not be more appropriate to reduce it to four or three years?
Coming back to the topic Imran Khan is an ambitious person. I’ve read in one of his biographies written by an English author that if he did not had a career in cricket then he would have joined the Civil Service of Pakistan. Apparently there is nothing wrong with being ambitious and having a lust for power. But the important question is that how much control do you have over your desires? And if there is a conflict of interests between your personal interest and the larger public interest, can your sacrifice your personal ambitions for the sake of larger national interest? If Imran Khan cannot control his lust for sex how can we assume that he will overcome a much more addictive lust, i.e. Power?
Faraz: Nobody is saying that one political party should be banned. What people are saying is that MQM should become a proper political party displaying democratic norms and with no fascists or terrorist inclinations such as one we witnessed on May 12 or earlier on.
I agree that there are other political parties as well with “armed wings”. Here, what is important to take note of is that the process or movement against this armed political parties has started (with “fascist/terrorist MQM”). Sooner or later, we would demand our political parties to get “unarmed” as well.
Mustafa: All I’d like to say is that it is very difficult to find one person with “clean track record” since his birth in Pakistan.
It’s true that Imran did commit mistakes in the past, but compare those with what Benazir, Altaf, Nawaz and Musharraf did.
I think he should give a second thought to Imran. He talks with passion and energy, and with honestly and frankness, and even himself admits his mistakes of the past. Let’s give him our support at this important juncture of our country’s life.
Skeptic:
You said this:
“Winning the 1992 world cup and building the cancer hospital. These are big achievements in cricket and social work but not in politics and statesmanship.”
Pls kindly show any leader in Pakistan with big achievements in politics and statesmanship.
Skeptic:
You said this:
“Winning the 1992 world cup and building the cancer hospital. These are big achievements in cricket and social work but not in politics and statesmanship.”
True. But, pls kindly show any leader in Pakistan with big achievements in politics and statesmanship.
People in opposition always say they will do this and do that but they are really judged when they are in power. So far who ever became in power dishearted all of us. Imran Khan will also be judged really whenever he will become a head of state. So wait and see now.
Does this mean that Adil Najam is back again in Pakistan? Wow, is somehing afoot?
By the way, I think Imran may be seious on this. Important point is that he is taking on ALTAF HUSAIN, Not the MQM. I think some in MQM wil like it if he succeeds in this.
Well i dont think there is any silver bullet to change Pakistan. What we first need is revolution in education and economy and then in media, police and institution. Musharaf is not ideal but Pakistan GDP is growing at rate of 7% (5th in world) in his era. Imran is a capriciuos person. He slap a news journalist in past and can do impulsive decision when in power. I will say if Musharaf leave army and restore transparent democracy then it will be ood start.
Imran has indeed matured as politician. While i am not sure about he being successful but i would sure like to copy again three important points he said in previous post. How right he is, dead right.
”
1. On his relationship with Gen. Musharraf:
I now realize that our good relationship in the beginning was based on two wrong assumptions. He assumed, wrongly, that I wanted to be Prime Minister. And I assumed, wrongly, that he was a genuine reformer.
2.
On politics in Pakistan:
You have to realize that what we have in Pakistan is not just feudal politics, but ‘political terrorism.’ People are not forced but coerced into voting a particular way, through the most violent means.
3. On the ‘English Medium’ class:
It is sad and ironic that the very people on whom we spend the largest amount of the nation’s educational resources–the ‘English Medium Class’–are the most deculturalized from the essence of Pakistan and the most depoliticized from the politics of Pakistan. They are the first to pontificate on what is wrong with politics and democracy, but the very last to vote. In fact, they usually do not vote at all.
”
The second and the third point are very important in my view.
God help Pakistan,God help Imran Khan
Imran khan has not been able to win, but at least there is someone who is speaking truth and it is obvious that he wants to do better things and clearly has failed to do so, but we should analyze it and help him coz our next generation will ask us the questions if we fail too.
Let us decide today, that we will become his team, support him morally and wake up the silent majority. I have never voted before but this time I am determined to do so; whether tehreek-e-insaf wins or not; but we have to keep this movement running.
He has everything in life, and he doesnt really need to do politics which has caused great harm to his glorious fame. But he is doing it for the sake of his people, and I really respect his cause.
I think we should give imran a chance to govern the country.The ression is whatever he said he did(e.g hospital,world cup & case against killer alttaf).we tried ppp.pml.mma&army.if we lose this chance we never get on trek.every country in this world is thinking about themselves & this is our responsibility to think our country.
Faraz, I concur with you on the core issue facing Pakistan. You’ve rightly said that Pakistan needs a revolution in the fields of education, media and I’d add first and foremost, judiciary.
Such a change can only come once you have “political outsiders” leading the nation. I consider Imran Khan to be a political outsider i.e. he is not a feudal, nor a corrupt industrialist, nor the son of a general or the scion of a political family.
Expecting a change in status quo from a military dictator is too naive.
@King Faisal
You have raised some good points & here is the answer:-
Imran Khan did not support Mush in 2000. He supported his 7 point agenda. There is a difference between you supporting a personality & you supporting his views. Supporting a personality means you consider the personality ABC’s views as right no matter what he says. Supporting views mean you support a personality ABC because of the views. The day the personality ABC become disloyal to his previously stated views, you have the due right to distance yourself from him.
And that’s what Imran Khan did. He supported Musharraf because of his 7 point agenda. Because Musharraf failed on all of them, Imran now says he is against Mush. And also in his BBC HARD TALK interview he called his previous support as a mistake. I guess that’s enough a reply on this.
Secondly you compared Imran with Jinnah & ZAB. What you forgot to mention is the fact that Jinnah & ZAB were not alone. Jinnah had the vision of people like Iqbal, Maulana Johar & other great ML leaders. He joined a party & gave it energy. The party had already a vision by the great Sir Syed & Later Iqbal. Jinnah worked under such great names as his help. ZAB had the support of the establishment & later on the feudal group. He had many similar supporting bricks.
Imran has started a party from zero & has gone against probably everyone in his game. All the establishment has become his enemy & considering all this isn’t it big deal that he was able to manage this much. You cannot run a local Nazim Election if the local establishment is against you, what to talk of forming a political party. So considering these 36 years is nothing in Imran’s case. And when did IMRAN said or showed as if he wanted to be a PM. His only motive is to win an objective, whoever be the PM or in gov. That is the rule of law & justice. His other priority being health and education. In all his interviews he seems to be the only clear man in vision & view. All others jump from one to other statement
Yes indeed he won’t likely be successful; given the system we have but don’t look at what he could not achieve. Look from where he started & appreciate him came this long. May be after 50 years you see his party wining a good portion of seats. And if he can keep his party away from ARMY, FEUDAL & CORRUPT people we may see a hope of change.
Rate him from where he started and on which pitch. A pitch which is as dirty as one can imagine.
You mentioned his personal life. First of all, is that the only point which his opponents have to say something on? The answer is indeed yes. But firstly we suppose for the sake of argument that he had done something really wrong. Considering this parameter, none, including Musharraf should be able to be in power. Why don’t you discuss the alcohol drink brand Mush likes?
Your statement “imran khan’s yateem status in pakistani politics is a testament to political acumen of pakistani awam which is smart enough to see through hypocrisy of a man especially one who lectures on morality and yet cannot acknowledge the existence of his own daughterâ€
Not to belittle the role of politicians like Imran, the man of the moment is CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry. His single act of defiance roused a sleeping nation. Judicial independence will be won by the efforts and the defiant spirit of the bar and the bench.
Next, neo-politicians like Imran Khan will secure larger presence in the parliament. Honestly I don’t think PTI will emerge as the single largest party. But even in a partnership with PMLN they’ll exert pressure on their partner to run affairs transparently.
Pakistan is indeed in need of an education and media revolution. On the media front, the private channels are doing a good job. However, there is also a dire need for local radio and TV stations holding open discussions and talk shows on local issues relating to governance and development. Without that, the media revolution can not go far enough.
Moreover, the notion of free and fair elections also needs to be discussed seriously and more broadly rather than just limiting it to Musharraf’s uniform. For a start, every candidate should have a reasonable opportunity to present himself to the people. For that, local radio/TV stations need to be used to conduct live debates between the candidates in every constituency so that the voters can hear what they have to say. In the absence of such debates in the electronic media, the powerful and rich elites get an edge, thus defeating the notion of fairness.
I would request everyone to at least raise their voices on this issue by writing articles, letters to the editor in various newspapers, TV talk show hosts, civil society organizations, and any political party they can contact.
@ about imran personal life
TRust me he is no match for shaikh rasheed as far as being a playboy goes ;)
If that Jew believed in Tawheed (MONOTHEISM) then Islam allows us marry such ehl-e-kitab (Jews and christians). You can not object of something permitted by Islam so Shhhhh everyone.
I guess one has to make some sacrifices to become IMRAN KHAN. like not being able to enjoy the comfort of a traditional family lives like rest of us. HE could make that work and leave this nation as leaderless as ever.
His actions may contradict his words due to lack of experience in the field of politics or due to his uncontrollable conviction, human weaknesses.. but certainly not due to hypocricy (munafiqat). We shouldnt expect a Prophetic behaviour from a political leader.
Although feeling of doing somethyng for Pakistan was dug deep in the heart of Pakistani’s, Imran Khan gives a glimmer of hope, rekindles the spirit burried in the hearts and no one focuse abt his personal life. They’re not interested in Imran Khan, his playboy status, or anythyng. They’re interested in following a man who is trustworthy and can make a turn around for the nation, be it Imran Khan, be it M.A.Jinnah, be it nelson mandela!!
Fortunately the man we have trusted is Imran Khan :))
go Imran go
Imran khan = Charisma. Charisma does not help without good strategy. What is imran’s strategy for economy and education? Why not make salman ahmed and junaid jamsheed as other leaders? Imran may be better then nawaz or benezir but it does not imply he is the MAN. C.J of Pakistan is the only guy who has audacity to stood against pak establishment.
We should all support Imran Khan.
put yourself in the position of imran khan’s daughter. imagine how you would you feel if your own father refused to publicly acknowledge your existence much less do your pervarish when your mother died?
imran khan’s indiscretions in his private life dont preclude him from running for public office. however its only natural that some voters will judge him by how his private conduct stacks up against his posturings in the public arena. imran khan started his political career by speaking a great deal about the superiority of islamic morality system. i am no expert on islamic theology but as far as i know, islam does not condone ignoring your own child. my stance on this issue is that men not willing to deal with the consequence of their own behaviour are losers be it young black men living in ghetto america or playboy star athletes hobnobbing with the jet set. dont do the crime if you are not willing to serve the time is a good motto in my opinion. i would have nothing but respect for imran khan if he acknowledged his past and dealt with the consequence like a man.
i would also not be speaking about imran khan’s private life if he had not made private morality a public issue. moreover throughout his political career, imran has actively sided with religious right whose core platform is regulation of our private life best example of this policy being the hisba bill. no better example than the hypocrisy of imran khan than his demand that his private life is own business despite the fact that all through his political career he has shared a podium with religious right. sort of like cheney speaking against gay rights while attending the christianing ceremony of his grand child born to his lesbian daughter.
imran’s hypocrisy is also seen by his recent alliance with nawaz sharif. imran accuses musharraf of being an american stooge for siding with the americans after 9/11. nawaz sharif in comparison supported the first iraq war eventhough saddam did not kill a single american. imran says musharraf, by filing a reference against supreme court judge, is damaging the judiciary. nawaz in comparison sent his goons to the supreme court to get rid of the chief justice. imran says musharraf is damaging the press. nawaz sharif shut down jang longer than musharraf closed geo. nawaz shareef banned imran khan from tv while under musharraf, imran khan is on tv 24×7. under nawaz, pakistan economy went into selective default. under musharraf, pakistan has $15bn of foreign reserves and has attracted this year $6bn in foreign investment.
i could go on and on but would be waste of time because imran’s career wont amount to anything more than a hill of beans.
I have to say I agree with Faraz, Mustafa and Skeptic more than the others. Imran Khan has his plus points and has a number of weaknesses as well. Yes, he was a great cricketer, spearheaded a cancer hospital, is bold enough to take on Altaf–all that is great. But weigh that against his voting record–voted for Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman for the PM slot instead of Jamali, abstained from voting for repeal of the Hudood Ordinance (which ironically upheld an adultery law), furthermore, mocked its repeal openly on tv shows, and then the whole thing with Sita White is undeniably a big negative. Perhaps one could have more respect for him if he acknowledged the mistake instead of refusing to talk about it–there is also the schizophrenic issue—denying it in Pakistan but posing for Hello with Tyrian; criticizing Pakistani elites and their ways but happily rubbing shoulders with Liz Hurley, Diana, Jemima and the like–just a bit too much baggage there for me.
Having said all of that, I still think he can and does contribute to Pakistan but probably will not make a good PM. He can perhaps take on a portfolio that would make use of his single-minded and simplistic qualities–Interior Minister perhaps or something of that nature–definitely not something that involves diplomacy or level-headedness, like PM or Foreign Minister.
Imran Khan OR Shimran Kahn
Hey folks – one thing is clear Immy would never ever have crept out of his political anonymity had it not been the knee jerk reaction of the hawks in MQM. MQM has shot itself in the foot by taking on this Idiot and given a boost to his ratings.
Immy to me is just another opportunist and would be no different from any other wannabe, shyster or charlatan. His best credential is his claim as national sports hero NO MORE NO LESS.
Shaukat Khanum – good but not good enuf. There are many more who have done 100 times bigger no profit projects but dont like publicity – unlike IMMY.
Also Shaukat Khanum doe not give him any political charter buty it seems that he is cashing in on Shaukat Khanum and gaining political mileage.
IMMY is the epitome of hypocrisy ands opportunism like many other pakistani politicians
SO MY ADVISE TO PEOPLE– PLS DO NOT GET SWAYED BY HIS CHARM AND GET DUPED AGAIN- U WILL BE DOUBLE DISAPPOINTED
MY ADVISE TO SHIMRAN KAHN: COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, BE THANKFUL TO MQM FOR GIVING U ALL THIS FREE PUBLICITY AND MAYBE EVEN A SEAT THIS TIME WITHOUT ANY ADJUSTMENTS OR HELP FROM HIDDDEN HANDS
Imran Khan OR Shimran Kahn
Hey folks – one thing is clear Immy would never ever have crept out of his political anonymity had it not been the knee jerk reaction of the hawks in MQM. MQM has shot itself in the foot by taking on this Idiot and given a boost to his ratings.
Immy to me is just another opportunist and would be no different from any other wannabe, shyster or charlatan. His best credential is his claim as national sports hero NO MORE NO LESS.
Shaukat Khanum – good but not good enuf. There are many more who have done 100 times bigger no profit projects but dont like publicity – unlike IMMY.
Also Shaukat Khanum doe not give him any political charter buty it seems that he is cashing in on Shaukat Khanum and gaining political mileage.
IMMY is the epitome of hypocrisy ands opportunism like many other pakistani politicians
SO MY ADVISE TO PEOPLE– PLS DO NOT GET SWAYED BY HIS CHARM AND GET DUPED AGAIN- U WILL BE DOUBLE DISAPPOINTED
MY ADVISE TO SHIMRAN KAHN: COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, BE THANKFUL TO MQM FOR GIVING U ALL THIS FREE PUBLICITY AND MAYBE EVEN A SEAT THIS TIME WITHOUT ANY ADJUSTMENTS OR HELP FROM HIDDDEN HANDS
PAKIAVELLI
Of course, only time can tell if Imran is real or not, but my question is, have we not tested the rest of our “leaders” already? have we not experienced thier cronyism over competence rule? how many more chances that we need to give to these leaders, including the military? So what if Imran “may’ not be what he claims to be, but against whom? what are we afraid of? What choices do we have? Benazir, Nawaz, etc., and the rest of same old jugglers? we even have a jigolo in the PM house, per Condi Rice.
To those who are “worried” and “concerned”, I say, please don’t. But just don’t have too much expectation. Of course, only time can tell!
Tariq
Minneapolis, MN
USA
@king_faisal:
there are numerous examples in history where not-so perfect men changed, it just takes an event to change a man completely. Look at the Islamic history, the mushrikeen, who turned away from their sins and followed Mohammad PBUH and made sacrifices.
Imran does not deny he had a sinful life, but he has changed and has already made many sacrifices. Besides, the definition of a sin is subjective to one’s own interpretation when it comes to personal life, him being a playboy at that time was not a sin for him then, and it didnt hurt anyone. Yes Sita White is a dark spot but u very well know the population of similar dark spots in the west. its a normal thing there, Sita White is not the first girl without a father. Besides, the Sita White ruling was based on circumstantial evidence at that time when he was claimed to be the father by the jury. Only DNA tests are definitive. that never took place.
Since u brought up Islamic Morality, where is the morality of Muslims who tease a man based on his past sins?
as on the Nawaz Sharif case u pointed, i think its better to read MB’s comment above again. Imran is not an ally of Nawaz but an ally of opposition. Not just Nawaz, b4 03/09 he was working to unite the opposition to boycott elections. Now if other parties have their own opportunistic agendas in this crisis and are roaming here and there, its really strange to say Imran is supporting Nawaz who is the only opposition leader (besides MMA) who is standing against Musharraf, prob. because Nawaz sees no chance of any opportunity himself. Frankly speaking, I dont understand PPP at the moment mainly due to the different perception I have about BB and AH on this issue.
As for the economy, u better be joking right. its like saying that because afridi’s strike rate is so high, he is the best batsman out there. The stock market is a sham, the whole world was losing business after 09/11, KSE was rising, strange? yes, because its a speculative system. Few businessmen and certain banks decide the index, which has never been an indicator of an economy. Secondly, check this new video, where the expert points out that why it ‘seems’ that our economy has improved which he credits to post 09/11 money monitoring activities which forced people to use the legal channels. Secondly, foreign investment in Pakistan is not in the manufacturing industry. In the service industry due to super excellent investment plans by the government, a company can carry out a project in pakistan even on trial basis without losing much. If situations worsens tomorrow, most of them will pack up and go without much cost. Thirdly, government claims that consuming buying power has increased, but thats due to consumer banking which i find devilish to say the least. Poeple are now under loans and due to exceptionally high interest rates, banks r getting richer. this wealth is not distributed anywhere which would be termed ‘sustainable’. Besides, in this video, the expert also points out that there is no investment in the power and energy sector. The service industry foreign investments are just eying to sell their goods to the masses.
Why did the Saudis, the Chinese left the deals for our power companies? Because it takes a long time before they get any return which no one right now is willing to risk in this not so stable Pakistan besides the corruption.
Ask the poor man what economy has given him….
Yeh hai Pakistan
Jahan Gaon Gaon Mobile Hai,
Peenay Ka Paani Nahi
Yeh hai Pakistan,
Jahan Gaon Gaon internet hai,
lekin ghar main bijli nahi
Yeh hai Pakistan
Jahan Gaon Gaon motorcycle hai,
lekin sehet aur hasptaal nahi
Yeh hai Pakistan
jahan dekhnay ko to sab kuch hai,
lekin karch kernay ka apna paisa nahi
@King Faisal
I guess i, for the sake of argument already assumed that whatever you say about his personal life is true.
My interest was his public life. Yes indeed if he starts preaching us morals , then i shall be the first one with you to remind him of his past. But my comparison was his score from 100 ( considering top ten requirements) VS any others score from 100.
In that if you have 10 points for morality, he surely gets a ZERO, suppose. But dont you think he will win most of the rest of 90?
That was the whole point. Yes he needs to keep himself away from this extremist “tolla”, who are just another opportunist, the only difference being they LOVE to get the seat on RELIGIOUS ground. I consider Sheikh Rashid better then MMA (if you keep his morals aside for time being ) reason being he does constituency politics & does it best than any, though from inside he is no different than TALIBAN, again showing a Hippocratic nature of our politicians. Bring him on topics against INDIA & see how high he goes to boast about ISLAM, PAKISTAN and all that.
No prophet would have won the popularity contest (and hence an election) in their time. Anyone who claims that the mark of success is winning an election or getting the top job does not know what success is. Imran isn’t one of those people. His fight is for equity and justice, not for some, but justice for all. He doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. My only regret is that this country will waste a guy who represents the best in mankind and should have been embraced by all. But our society marked by prejudice, hypocrisy, parochialism and opportunism is perhaps not ready for someone so pure. We keep questioning his intentions; keep trying to dig dirt on him. Someone here said that he is trying to get political mileage out of his hospital. You perhaps haven’t seen anyone suffering from cancer. How many dedicated cancer hospitals do we have in Pakistan? How many poor cancer patients can get any treatment in Pakistan; or for that matter, how many “cancer patients” can get any treatment in Pakistan.
I think the only silver lining in all that is currently happening in Pakistan, is the fact that the people are, for the first time, showing signs of life. The Pak media, whose unparalleled freedom in the unfortunate history of Pakistan is ironically owed to the Musharraf regime in no small measure, can definitely claim the major portion of credit after the legal community. However the Internet, blogging in particular, have also been very effective in raising public awareness.
To me, this spark of life is more important than Imran, the MQM, the General, the CJ, or anyone else. Once more, though, we seem to be getting sidetracked by being more emotionally focused on the personalities. This is deplorable.
The critical question is whether the current political awareness and activism can be sustained until a consensual and durable political process is firmly entrenched in Pakistan? Or will the people, as they did in the past, go back to sleep once the current establishment has been toppled?
That might turn out to be the last nail in the coffin.
I see Imran Khan is a ray in darkness and he will shine soon in Pakistan’s politics. We (Pakistanis) needs a person who is determine and committed to his saying and acts, till yet he has proved himself. Also this is a turning point in Pakistan’s politics, his personality suits to fit for leadership for all of our ethinics (which is always a problem in our politics). Nawaz Sharif is loyal to Pakistan but not determine and committed, still people trust him instead Bainazir Bhutto. Alone Imran Khan may couldn’t get the target he needs support and his soft corner towards Nawaz Sharif is not bad approach. Lets see what comes out but be sure this is the time to change and it will be a big change in Pakistan’s politics.
MQM is a black spot on our forehead, they are not politicians but a gang of “bhai log” who has not selfrespect niether pride they can do any thing for money thats what for they are struggling. Imran has been hit the ball now its our turn to support him till the end, NOW OR NEVER!
Imran Khan is the Fresh Air in Pakistani Politics. I have no concern with his past because it was his personal life. He never done anything wrong against our nation, he is not a criminal, liar or fraud. Imran Khan has dignity and he always has stood firm on his principles.
When he entered politics he rightly point out that if we want to eliminate corruption from Pakistan we need an independent Judiciary and now since 9th March we are witnessing the fact that Imran was right from the day one.
He is the only person who has shown courage to stand against MQM. All of us, even a common Karachi citizen knows the reality of MQM. Allah may help him in wining the case against Altaf Hussain, it will be blessing for Karachi to see off MQM.
Imran is fighting for the cause of common man and I can only pray for his success. One day I want to see him captaining (prime minister) our nation. I know for a fact he will be a great captain in politics too.
Imran Khan – FRESH AIR ? NOTTTT !
Alas
Well said…
MB, Aqil Sajjad, Atiq-Abdulrehman, AUK, Viqar Minai
King faisal…
Usually to have an opinion about a person, we read or hear about or listen to that person (in person or on TV or Internet)….
The question to be asked is:
additional to what we ”already know” about Imran, whcih one of his interviews/presentations/talk show appearances have we seen lately.
And how do we compare that to the rest of the current political leadership in the country.
I agree with SYMK and Sohail,we dont want Benazir or Nawaz sharif who have already ruined the country ,there is a famous quote in urdu “Azami Huwe ko nahi Azmana Chahiya,and we need to see Adil’s comments on Imran’s endeavours. I believe Imran’s initiative is the first ray of hope for middle, poor and educated class of Pakistan. If he wins his case…then there will be a hope that an ordinary , loyal and true patriotic can do something for country. I want to give an advice to Adil Najam that if he has the chance of meeting Imran Khan,he should advise him that he should have other renowned figures in his party , educated people, people who are national heroes, and who have a proven track record, of sicerity to the country,like Anwar Maqsood,Pervez Hoodbhoy,people like Aitizaz Ahsan, and i wont be wrong in saying Adil Najam, so that he can make a strong party, and have more seats in the assembly.
People who dont want to earn foreign support in the name of extremism, people who are sincere of Pakistan. Who dont want Pakistani’s to sell kidney’s to those who earn dollars.
Please I request do sth we are going through worst of the times.
NASHUS SAID: “I think Imran has a larger than life image in Pakistan and his involvement in the dirty politics of this country will do neither him nor the country any good. We need more projects like Shaukat Khanum and his under completion college in Mianwalli than his wasting with Altaf Hussain, Benazir and Nawaz Sharif.”
I think that is a riduclulous thing to say. You guys love to beat up on ‘dirty politicians’ but then do not want anyone ‘clean’ to enter politics – perhaps because none of you would have the guts, the stamina and be able to withstand jail, exile, cases against you, harassment of your families etc JUST ASK THE CJ WHAT IT FEELS LIKE. So, although you get so hysterical when anyone acuuses you cricket loving drawing room wallahs of being unrealistic and totally removed from the reality of Pakistani politics – all that happens is 100 pf you will now jump down my throat and get abusive. Perhaps it is time for some self-examination and reflection. ZJAN
First of all my hats off to AUK for that short para. I just want to re produce very important line from his para :-
“But our society marked by prejudice, hypocrisy, parochialism and opportunism is perhaps not ready for someone so pure. We keep questioning his intentions; keep trying to dig dirt on him”
Secondly to the question Sohail put on table ( though it was for everyone ) my answer is this :-
Over the last many years i have hardly miss any of his interview/debate or program on TV. I have seen all his interview & have observed a good fast conversion from innocent IMRAN (in politics) to sensible politicians who at least talks decently & conveys his point in comparatively more appropriate manner than any other, at least 10 times better than the lie ministers of MUSH. I can safely say that ( and to my own surprise who opposed him in 1996 when he joined politics) not only IMRAN on any day is a better man to be called a politician than any.
Can anyone bring one name among the rest of politicians who have one 1 percent of what IMRAN has done for this land?.
Forget his CRICKET. Just look at the way he is trying to build pakistan for poor & ignored. After Shaukat he is on his way to build NAMAL College/University & he plans to build a hospital in KARACHI after this. He has many other plans in mind (not disclosed yet). Just consider this & all other politicians fail flat.
What they did for Pakistan? Plunder, rob, kill people, terrorize opponents, act like a parasite on this nation, feed the feudal + ARMY thugs. What else?. Is there any single landmark these goons have achieved for this land ?
But i guess AUK is right. Imran is actually too pure, comparatively and thats why we keep on digging his personal life and all that.
We should be thankful to lawyers & media that there is a awakening for the first time. Its because of that people like IMRAN are in limelight now. And in order to eliminate corrupt people we sometime need to exaggerate the “little good” people ( Imran in this case).
Instead of thanking GOD that at least a man with reputation and honour entered a dirt ( in PAK ) like politics what we are doing is reminding him of his weak points & dragging his leg out of politics.
If IMRAN goes out of politics, do we honestly believe any chance of any other GOOD GUY joining politics in future ?
Imran Khan is a great hope and he has been at the forefront of the CJP issue. He is not perfect, but no-one is. Can we as Pakistanis remember we have been the victims of ‘ Faujistan’ for too long hence our politicians and thus politicians of principle are rare. So lets support Imran in his endeavours knowing he can be wrong and right as can anyone else. We are currently witnessing a ‘ New Pakistan Movement’ which I hope will deliver an ‘ Other Pakistan’ – Watch out for Other Pakistan soon to be launching to provide a forum of debate for Pakistanis inside and outside of Pakistan so we can finally create the Quaid’s Pakistan.
Pakistan Zindabad
Wasim
I wish Imran Khan well and like him too.
So far, it seems he has a long way to go in politics. He entered politics almost eleven years ago and has managed so far only to win his own seat in the National Assembly and generate lots of publicity.
Lots of overseas Pakistanis and upper middle class Pakistanis seem to like him, as is obvious from blog postings in his favor. The question to ask is, why is he unable to make a breakthrough in the electorate back home?
The basic premise of democracy is that the people have a collective wisdom. They can sometimes make wrong choices and, over time, correct them, on their own.
Many of us do not seem to recognize the concept of the people’s collective wisdom and insist on our own preferences being an expression of what is right.
If Imran and his supporters can figure out why the people have so far refused to vote for him, they might be able to work out a better political strategy for the future.
The Pakistani blogosphere, too, needs to rethink its entire approach to politics. Why is it that leaders whom the bloggers seem to despise still remain major players in the real world of Pakistani politics?
Although Imran is one of the most outspoken supporters of the Chief Justice, why do PPP flags outnumber Imran Khan’s PTI flags by 100 to 1 in the CJ’s rallies?
Why are Jamaat-e-Islami supporters (with JI flags) prominent at Imran Khan rallies and not the English-speaking, cricket-loving types represented here?
Answers to these questions, and not our well-meaning and enthusiastic “Imran is good” “Imran represents a new face to all of us tired of Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto,” will help Imran and all of us understand the collective wisdom of the people, and maybe enable us to change Pakistan’s politics over time.
More or less we all agreed to 1 point that is Pakistan is in bad shape, well there are only two options for any sensible person, one is to do immigrate to some other country and let Pakistan continue on its path to destruction. The other option is to do something about improving the current situation. I will any day take the second option
So if one has decided to do something about the country then what should be the course of action. Well one option is to do charitable works, the other to enter politics. Entering politics seems a more direct and more effective means of improving the state of affairs since in that case one would have the resources of the state at disposal to improve the situtaion.
Of all the political parties right now Imran Khan(PTI) seems to be right and appropriate option left. Also I don’t think we have any other option considering the politics of the other parties.
It doesn’t matter that it wont be the forerunner in 2007, as long as it get even 10-20 seats I will be happy since it would be able to atleast have some weight on important issues. I would like to see PTI as a issues party meaning a party which decide to support or oppose the government differently on each issue rather than either being always with gov or against it.
At the end My personal request to everyone how long we see our country been destroyed,plundered by our Politics & Army Generals..it’ll be too late. We left politics to a group of corrupt individuals in our socities and closed our eyes like pigeons thinking if we cant see the cat, she wont see us and wont eat us. But she saw us and she’s about to eat us all. We should open our eyes and smell the reality. its now or neve
Anyways thats my opinion.
Allah Hafiz
Reading some of the above comments, the Biblical saying comes to mind:”Let he who never sinned,cast the first stone”
Well I agree with observer. Imran may have charisma but certainly he does not seems to have vision and strategy to change course of country. Some role like “interior minister” or “health minister” may fit his profile.
I will also say the from my childhood I am hearing names of Nawaz, Benezir, Altaf and Qazi and it is time for these ppl to go away. â€
i think we are not a nation who cares much about the personal weaknesses of our leaders as long as they are doing well in public service. remember that MA Jinnah and Iqbal, not to mention ZAB, used to drink. Allama Iqbal was also sort of a ladies man with multiple marriages and some romances on the side. nobody mentioned these things about them, so why about Imran Khan? BECAUSE he is not doing very well in politics!
I completely support Imran Khan in his struggle for restoration of democracy and getting Altaf Hussain deported from England.
Altaf Hussain and his goons have looted, raped and pillaged this nation, and yet people such as King Faisal have the audacity of criticizing Imran Khan on taking on this psycho.
Everyone knows Imran Khan was an international heart throb, and he did have relationships with many women. At least he didn’t rape women like Alfaf Hussain or get prostitutes brought over to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital during the times Altaf bhai was “sick.” There are so many horror stories in Karachi of Altaf’s goons raping girls from decent families who refused their advances. Its sick for anyone who has any fear of Allah to defend Altaf Hussain.
Altaf is karachi’s Bal Thakray, in fact he’s worse. I am a muhajir and chances are that my family will vote MQM (to return a favor done to them by the sindh govt.), but my heart is with Imran in this matter. Pir sahib has no business sitting in london, as Imran rightly points out. Altaf’s ridiculous stance on Musharraf is causing MQM more harm than all the previous fauji campaigns against them(where mqm somewhat maintained the semblance of a moral high ground).
Zahrajan:
To face the reality of Pakistani politics people of Pakistan have to stand up against the atrocities of those who have themselves elected. No Imran Khan, Abdul Sattar Edhi or Dr Rizvi can be their political saviors. If people of Karachi have repeatedly preferred to elect “goons” they deserve to be governed by “goons” unless they take them to task themselves through the political process. We are in the habit of seeking saviors and dragging good people into politics and politics has its own dynamics which we choose to forget. It is dirty not only in Pakistan but everywhere in the world.
And while I am writing this in early morning in the middle kingdom I can hear on the Aaj TV a piece of ghazal from Tarranum Naz which aptly describes entering politics:
Dekhen hein bohat hum ne andaaz mohabbat ke
aghaaz bhi ruswai anjaam bhi ruswai
Latest Merey Mutabiq with Mian Shahbaz Sharif (June 16 2007):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33u6bev_u6Y
There are several people who have realistic expecttions from Imran Khan, like winning several seats in the NA. However most are expecting Imran to sweep the next elections and form the next government. That is just not going to happen.
These people are also forgetting that Imran, Nawaz, Benazir or any other politician could not rouse the nation. The man of the moment, the man of the match is CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry. His single act of defiance has roused the valiant nation of Pakistan. Behind him are the panj sher, the five lions: Aitzaz Ahsan, Muneer Malik, Ali Ahmad Kurd, Tariq Mahmood and Hamid Khan.
Imran Khan and other politicians have even admitted that lawyers are the vanguards of the people’s movement. Politicians are mere follwers.
It was a lawyer who put forth the idea of Pakistan, another lawyer founded the country. Takmeel-e Pakistan i.e. completion of Pakistan will also happen at the hands of the legal fraternity.
Pakistan zindabad!
CJP and the legal fraternity paindabad!
Here is a thought. We as a Nation need to get to a point where politicians become irrelevant. Yes, that is exactly what I said; no more worrying about the Sharifs or the Bhuttos or the Faujis. That is already a case in most of the developed world. People go about their day to day business without any regard to who is governing them. Of course that does not imply not being part of the political process; on the contrary, when there are elections every few years, peoples’ voices get heard based on what the issues of the day are. However when the elections are over, everyone goes back to their business and life resumes as normal; nobody gives a damn about the politicians anymore.
Two things have to happen for this to work. One, there has to be justice for all. No one should fear anyone; every one should fear the law. From current history, we are not even close to that point. However if the current struggle by the judiciary is successful, it will go a long way in establishing a judiciary which has teeth, and which can provide justice to everyone.
2nd, the economy has to become strong, to a point that people don’t fear where their next meal will come from. If people are poor, they get exploited by the politicians, in the false hope that they will change their lives. We have to learn to understand that we have to change our lives ourselves; no one will do it for us. We are a long way from getting to this 2nd more long term goal. There may be sections of the society which are reasonably immune to the whims of the politicians, but the agrarian economy controlled by the landlords makes sure that parts of the society are never independent enough to control their destiny. Adversity begets adversity. However we have to come out of this vicious cycle of poverty. That goal may seem elusive, but is achievable if every segment of the society strives towards that.
Here is a thought. We as a Nation need to get to a point where politicians become irrelevant. Yes, that is exactly what I mean; no more worrying about the Sharifs or the Bhuttos or the Faujis. That is already a case in most of the developed world. People go about their day to day business without any regard to who is governing them. Of course that does not imply not being part of the political process; on the contrary, when there are elections every few years, peoples’ voices get heard based on what the issues of the day are. However when the elections are over, everyone goes back to their business and life resumes as normal; nobody gives a damn about the politicians anymore.
Two things have to happen for this to work. One, there has to be justice for all. No one should fear anyone; every one should fear the law. From current history, we are not even close to that point. However if the current struggle by the judiciary is successful, it will go a long way in establishing a judiciary which has teeth, and which can provide justice to everyone.
2nd, the economy has to become strong, to a point that people don’t fear where their next meal will come from. If people are poor, they get exploited by the politicians, in the false hope that they will change their lives. We have to learn to understand that we have to change our lives ourselves; no one will do it for us. We are a long way from getting to this 2nd more long term goal. There may be sections of the society which are reasonably immune to the whims of the politicians, but the agrarian economy controlled by the landlords makes sure that parts of the society are never independent enough to control their destiny. Adversity begets adversity. However we have to come out of this vicious cycle of poverty. That goal may seem elusive, but is achievable if every segment of the society strives for that.
I think Imran khan is right in his stance against military dictatorship & violence in politics.We need politicians like him to come forward.
Who can talk like this or even near it?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8546300751033754955
In his interview ,IMRAN has come up with a differentiation between the original Taliban & the later Fanatics who took over taliban. This was something new for me.
Does anyone have any info on this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWpVy-HyCAY
Thanks Kruman, MB for providing the links…though being away from home, ‘heard’ Mere Mutabiq yesterday night live on the phone.
An interesting exercise would now be to watch Sharifs, Benazir, Altaf, Musharraf, Kazi Hussain, Fazl-ur-Rehman and others and Imran in such live programs and then ask oneself as a voter this question;
Who from the current leadership should represent ”ME”.
To ‘ME’ the only one who is at ease ‘in domestic as well as foreign affairs…at home as well as abroad…in suit as well as shalwar-qamiz…in urdu as well as english…with dost as well as with dushman,’ and at ease with himself, not pretending, talking with conviction and knowledge of the subject and commanding respect and above all, under the current situation able to represent, talk to and be listened by the broad spectrum of Pakistani Society is………not so difficult to answer!!
The missing part astonishingly, in the answer are the ‘good people’,'the silent majority’, ‘the pragmatic’ waiting for the ‘right moment’ to come, when they could stand up and be counted on the right side of history…..
Not knowing that as in life, so in politics (as James Carville would say): It is the timing, stupid!
P.S. Adil put his work on Faiz a year ago whose timing seems to have become very very relevant now.
logged on after a bit and realised that i am not the only skeptic here regarding Imran Khan, Aqil sahib !!
you see , how many times are we going to be taken for a ride as a nation ?? This plunder has gone on for such a long time that every rainbow is seen as the harbringer of a storm.
I think being a skeptic is our defence shield. It keeps us from getting un neccesarily hurt.
Saw Shahbaz Sharif on the Dr.Masood show last night. what a major disapointment !! I had this misplaced notion that he was the brainy/quiet one who was a good administrator and could get things done , unlike the phujja pie eating elder brother… WRONG . I guess blood is thicker then the pie soup and genes are stronger then mis placed notions.
From Shahbaz Shareef’s interview with Shahid Masood, it is clear that he needs to cut down on the caffeine for his own good. He is too fidgety.
Actually for Shahbaz Sharif this was a missed oppertunity. He was appearing on the television infront of millions of people, most of us heard him speaking at such length for the first time, him being the quiet younger brother who was not allowed to talk by abba jee and Nawaz Sharif.
He could have been more eloquent and could have made more sense had he been calmer and more collected. Instead he let lose his wrath on the present regime and the world in general thus making people think , what did you do when you were in power ?
Did you not stop traffic when you went around Lahore ?
Was corruption not rampant when your government was in power ?
perhaps he should have not had that niccotine shot just before that interview !
Ayesha:
Skepticism for the sake of skepticism is not healthy. I am not saying that we should have too many expectations from Imran Khan or anyone else, but just lumping him with every other politician and assuming that he is just like them without looking at his past record is not a very positive tendency.
Imran Khan certainly has his flaws. But he has also had opportunities to join the government and he missed those chances because of his principles. This is not something that you could say about the majority of the politicians.
Also, without even coming into power, he has established a cancer hospital and is involved in other projects as well. How many other politicians can make a similar or better claim?
I am not saying that we start expecting that Imran Khan is the answer to all our problems. Nor should we assume that he will necessarily turn out to be a good leader in power. To judge him on that, we will have to see him in government.
But lets also not ignore his track record, which despite his flaws is clearly better than most other politicians. So why not give someone like him at least a chance rather than persisting with those who have been repeatedly tried and tested? What is there to lose?
“Back door deals, odd political bed fellows, retracting statements, befriending verbally sworn enemies etc are an integral part of our political system.
Will Imran change that ?
For further developments , we must wait and watch. ”
Aqil this is what i said in my first post. I am certainly not lumping him with other politicians. My question “will Imran change that? ” leaves the door open for optimism as far as he is concerned.His cancer hospital has been a raving success, about that there is absolute no doubt.
I agree with you , why not give him a chance, we dont have much to lose anyway plus its not like we have much of a choice , right ??
like they say … ” aik gunah aur sahee” ;)
The nation should be thankful to Imran that he has taken head on Altaf after what MQM did on 12th May. Every dog has a day. Altaf has so far been successful getting away with his atrocities as no one dared to challenge him except a small segment of print media.
Only a hypocrtite would say that MQM was not responsible for 12th May carnage. When other leaders tremble to speak against Don of Edgware, Imran Khan spoke without mincing his words who was responsible for the mayhem. Those days are gone when Altaf and his thugs would use force against any newspaper who did not toe his line. This is era of electronic media. The private TV channels showed in black and white the victims as well as perpetrators. Aaj TV footage showed MQM thugs brandishing AK-47 and firing indiscriminately. The Goebbles of MQM are consistently denying and only a naive can believe them. They can not continue throwing dust in the eyes of the people.
Imran Khan’s legal team in London is busy with the task of filing a case against Don of Edgware. In fact they have already handed over a dossier to the Scotland Yard and they are obliged to take action. There are serious allegations levelled against Don. Allegations of money laundering and terrorism will definitely raise eye brows of London police.
No wonder, MQM is keen to cut a deal with Imran Khan which he has already rejected.
Altaf has done enough harm to province of Sindh and its capital Karachi. This thug can not continue like this.
Here, here Viqar Minai. Institutions not individuals is the way to go and the nation is learning that, I think. Also, Kruman–I agree entirely–the CJP and the legal team are the ones to watch out for on the political front, and in my opinion, that would be a pretty good start for Pakistan. As a lawyer, it makes me extra proud to see them in this light. Call me optimistic, but to me, Benazir and Nawaz are history.
Somebody up here said Imran Khan should look into recruiting Aitzaz Ahsan, I think if there is an alliance to be formed there, it would have to be the other way round–Aitzaz Ahsan is a far bigger name in politics than Imran. But alas, I don’t think playing second fiddle would be something Imran would be interested in.
I have heard him speak several times. His main hero is Mahathir Mohammad (note: not a democratically elected leader). Although he may have delivered in the past, Imran is more authoritarian than democratic in his ways–that is how his former cricket teammates remember him at least. Also, why is it that after ten years of existence, one is hard pressed to name a single important figure in the PTI other than Imran? I wonder: does he refuse to listen to other opinions or build consensus? Does he not want to give others the opportunity to speak on behalf of PTI in the media? Does he deliberately recruit people who cannot overshadow him?
Also, a word about the legal case in the UK–I wish him all the luck with it because I think it would be great if he won but heard him speak at the LSE the other day (as I live in London) and was disappointed to learn that the case is being taken up pro bono. Now, I can tell you as a lawyer who has worked in the UK that pro bono cases, even with the best of intentions, are neglected. It will not be easy to win the Altaf case although there would have been a fair shot if the lawyers taking it up took it as a priority. Unfortunately, pro bono cases are rarely priorities. I am sure that when Imran won the case against Ian Botham, it was not pro bono. Perhaps Jemima’s dad may have paid the legal fees on that one and although I don’t expect Imran to foot the bill for this one, he could have perhaps started a fund and I am sure many Pakistanis would have contributed towards the legal fees so that the lawyers could be compensated for their efforts and would thus make it a priority for them too.
I guess observer is quite right in his 3rd para i.e why is it that IMRAN was not able to build a team of men around in 11 years who can face media & represent him on his behalf. This is a big question on his “democratic” intentions & its probably one weak point in his camp.
If IRMAN really wants to help democracy he first needs to do some action along with good lectures.
Please remember that only sincerity is not enough. May be the tyrant MUSH is doing all this as “sincerity towards country” but then again his sincerity may be there but what he is failing to understand is the fact that one can DO WRONG with sincerity too. Sincerity doesn’t guarantee success. It only ensures your version of the definition & description of the events. The other events unknown to you may help you change your version of sincerity. And the ability or inability of seeing that other version is what makes a man democratic or a dictator. On most of the occasions the dictators fail to see the other version. And thats why we curse them even if they were sincere.
Observer, “Institutions not individuals is the way to go and the nation is learning that, I think”.
I hope and pray that you are right. Judging from what is being said by most participants here, I am far from being convinced about it.
Observer,
I agree with you that it will be Imran Khan joining Aitzaz and co. and not the other way round, if a meger happens.
For the discerning minds a very important speech by Aitzaz in Faisalabad. I have just read his key statements , one of them is especially very important. I am translating what I’ve read/heard on the news.
“It is not the right time to have political parties join us in full force right now, but that time will come soon.”
The lawyers’ movement will not fade into the background after winning the legal battle. Infact the game begins thereafter :)
I have been a silent supporter to IMRAN for his positive attitude. I never got a chance to express my self.
I admire him for his nobility, devotiveness and courage.
I wonder what is the opinion of “Silent majority”
Let’s wait & see , till [fair] elections, whenever they are held in Pakistan.
Observer, do you know applicability of law on which imran is trying altaf. The law was passed in 2002. Does it apply to events before 2002. All evidence imran has so far are pre 1999. It can proof that Altaf is violent in nature but does he also has to proof that he is involved in exciting violence after 2002 like may 12 2007?
No one has talked about technical issues of the case yet.
One more interesting fact. In my opinion TV footage of AJJ TV can not prove anything(beyond reasonable doubt) in any court of law that Altaf was involved in 42 killing because of folowing
1. Most of ppl will killed near airport. Ajj Tv footage is at bussiness recorder office whic is 10 miles away from airport.
2. A defence lawyer from MQM can claim that ppl firing were abusing their flag.
3. There were gun battles at bussiness recorder office between MQM and ANP. 6-12 MQM activitist dies on May 12. A defence lawyer can argue that ppls were killed in gun battles and it was not pre-planned and other parties do have arms on that day.
I am not a lawyer but I think that unless british law applies to event before 2002, a good lawyer can easily shred the case.
I have no love for Altaf or MQM. That being said, Imran is no different than the other politicians, his running into the arms of Nawaz Sharif, a man whose cronyism and ineptitude drove the country into insolvency doesn’t help his case. In my world, Altaf=Benazir=Nawaz.
Imran is so blinded by his hatred for Pakistan’s military (and anti-Americanism) that he is willing to go to any length.
MB–thanks, but observer is a woman, not a man.
Institutions not Individuals…..the question again in the current situation is which individuals/team from among the current players in the field are best suited to reform the institutions (assuming that we have a problem with the institutions!”?)
The issue here and now is not absolut : Imran – good or bad
The issue here and now is relative: Who is better suited – Imran or others…..
Till some new players enter the field and/or some new realignment takes place.
How about the following new party:
Aitzaz Ahsan(PPP), Amin Fahim (PPP), Imran Khan(PTI), Ahsan Iqbal(PML-N), (MMA)(add leadership names), (MQM)(add leadership names), and others (add names)….
bringing along their own followership to make a broad based (relatively clean!)party…
Any suggestions!
Imran Khan, for many of us, was and still remains the only hope in Pakistan’s politics. Most of the things that he says are correct and touch ones’ heart. However, having met him and heard him speak, it is still very difficult to assess how he is going to change–in any way possible–the politics of “personality cults” in Pakistan. Altaf, Musharraf, Benazir, Bhutto, Ayub, and even further down in the past, Pakistan has always been ruled by personality cults.
There is an interesting article currently on the Understanding Pakistan website http://www.UnderstandingPakistan.com website that looks at the Governor Generalship of Quaid-e-Azam, and it is hard to come out without the feeling that perhaps we started on the wrong foot right there.
Imran is no exception to that–both in Cricket and in Politics. Tehrik-e-Insaaf is basically limited to his personality. Does anyone, for instance, know any other leaders of Tehrik-e-Insaaf? Imran’s contention that he hasn’t killed anyone–unlike Altaf–might be correct, but he needs to go much farther than that if he is to provide a viable political alternative to Pakistanis.
-A.O.
http://in.rediff.com/news/2007/jun/19hamid.htm
Interesting article by Hamid Mir. Says that Musharraf will be the last military dictator of Pakistan. All I can say after reading this is “Aameen, sum aameen”.
Late Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan said the same. He also stated that Musharraf will be first military dictator of Pakistan who’ll have to appear in court and will be put behind bars. I read this several years ago in SA Tribune. Does anyone have a pointer to this interview?
My head is spining even after reading few of these comments.People, please use a simple english.You are not immpressing anyone by using hard phrases but complicating your somtimes very wise views.Anyway I have been untouched with Pakistan politics until I read CNN “unstability in Pakistan”.Its a shame that Musharaff is turned out to be like this.(I hope its untrue) I had so much confidence on him.And I am scared of Imran Khan ,He seems to me as an angry man. I hope he does nt come out as killing machine once he gets the power.On the otherhand Altaf hussain (Mister my way or the highway) lost my respect long time ago but poor pakistanis who are living inside the country like living in a bubble believe (like they have any other choice)their politicians “emotional” speeches and promises. I hope he (Mr Altaf Hussain) is getting educated while he is in London.Now who is left?Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto? Forget it.Poor Pakistan
God bless Pakistan
Kruman, no pointer to Late Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan interview but I hope that once Mush is out of office, he should be tried in an open court for murder of 50 people in Karachi with full connivance of Altaf Hussain. This was a planned massacre that was committed with the complete knowledge of the Chief Executive of a country.
Mush was upset with the Chaudry’s for not supporting MQM on this episode or for not committing similar bloodshed in Punjab during CJ’s travel. As much as I dislike the Chaudry’s, I have to say that they acted like seasoned politicians and did not act in haste to their master’s call. Let’s give them credit for this.
Kruman: Re Hamid Mir’s article – http://in.rediff.com/news/2007/jun/19hamid.htm – in which he suggests that US doesn not want to lose their only ally (Musharraf) because “there is no other ally”. If this is what Hamid Mir believes after all his years of experience in the politics of Pakistan, I really feel sorry for him.
Brilliant political satire. I have only 2 words to describe it, simply brialliant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYlv_oqXTBY
Viqar,
I think Hamid Mir was merely stating the American position. This is the impression I got.
Let me say this, there is no other Pakistani politician who’ll be such an avid supporter of the Bush administration, not even Benazir. And Hamid Mir was trying to say the same.
From Nasim Zehra’s artcle in THE NEWS
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=61224
” In Pakistan for multiple reasons the gap between mainstream politics and ethics is barely shrinking. Imran Khan, the maverick politician who combines ethics, principles and politics functions largely without party machinery. He may influence the urban vote bank as an electoral partner of a party such as the PML-N. On his own for now he is the emerging voice of conscience on Pakistan’s power scene; he is to Pakistan’s mainstream political scene what Asma Jehangir is to Pakistan’s human rights scene. ”
If Observer is right and the case against Altaf is “pro bono” then a financial campaign would be helpful to give it a higher priority. Someone should relay this idea to Imran. This would be a genuine Pakistani “War on Terror”.
The epic of all poison against Muslim countries always originate from one place. London!
The false reporting provided to CIA about yellow cake from Niger originated from Italy only to be immediately verified by Great Britain MI Branch.
May it be intellectual terrorism in the form of Salman Rushdi to hurt Muslims or political terrorism in the form of the self proclaimed Peer “Altaf Hussain, Britain will always support these people to be used as and when required.
Imran can try and keep doing the only decent thing possible but unfortunately nothing will happen. The British Government is fully aware of Altaf’s deeds to full extent.
Just watch movie “A mighty heart” and think where Pak and Karachi were standing in 2002 when jihadi terrorist were roaming street of Karachi.
The biggest threat to Pakistan is not Altaf but pro-Talian element. Imran due to his stupid anti-america stand seems to be on Taliban side. This is a war between who want to turn Pak into Iran and those who believe in separation of religion and state.
Before blaiming USA or London just see what is happening in Sudan and Iraq where muslims are butchering other muslims. We are 100 years behind rest of world. Contribution of whole muslim civilization toward science,art and world economy is not even equal to a city in US. We are making Rushdie again a story and giving chance to rest of world to laugh at us.
Who in current political leaders can speak half the standard IMRAN does? ?
The feudal nawaz ?
The swiss wolf benazir ?
The bhatta khor ALTAF?
extremist religious leader qazi?
or the GHQ DOG mush ?
None
imran khan keep it up
ayesha sajid
Back door deals, horse trading, switching political affiliations in order to black mail majority parties, etc..
Imran or any other politician is not the answer. The answer lies with a free judiciary/judicial system where effected parties/citizens/voters can approach the court and get judgment against these morons.
Any politician who changes political parties after being elected should be forced to resign and seek re-election. Simply switching parties or horse trading in the assembly after being elected should be deemed unconstitutional.
It is shameful when politicians like Shaikh Rasheed appear on Geo and justify abrogation of constitution and take over of legitimate governments by military. And justifying it by stating that it has always been the case, hence “so what”? Meaning these scumbags are not even ashamed of the past wrong doings, in fact coming on national TV and saying openly that this is how it’s done and will continue in the same manner. I guess this is big money business (horse trading)and people like Shaikh Rasheed do not want their power of political blackmail lost. The question is, how do you get rid of such people.
You and me can keep talking but how many of us actually stand in the burning sun and wait for our turn to vote? 1% ? Mostly we are all paper tigers!
We are being told that we don’t have a choice in terms of the political leadership, thereby justifying the status quo and Musharraf’s position. The question is not what choice we have; the question is what choice he has. Nazir Naji (whom I once wrongly criticized on these pages as a front for the establishment) put it very aptly on Abdur-Rauf’s show (what is it called?) on Geo. According to Mr Naji, Musharraf should doff the uniform, should hold fair elections, and a presidential election only by the new elected assemblies. However he has created a constitutional crisis by going after the judiciary, and wants to create further rifts in the society by keeping everybody, including the Americans, guessing until the end. This clearly reeks of ill will on his part, and shows that he wants to set the rules of the game during the game. He is only interested in one outcome, no matter what. If there has to be only one outcome, then why create the farce of an election. Hence lets stop guessing if Imran is good for the country or not, because it does not matter at this juncture. Imran can only scream so much, but nobody is listening.
On another note, Speaker of the NA has forwarded Imran’s disqualification case to the election commission for review. As I said, things are only getting worse, as the players are making sure of the requisite outcome. I hope I am wrong, but barring a favorable decision from the SC, there does not seem to be any hope. Another news item of concern is the latest about the number of eligible voters in the country which has suddenly gone down by atleast 20 million from 2002, despite the fact that the age of a voter has been reduced. Are we ready for the sham of an election?
Imran khan is right and i think its time we put an end to this injustice
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Dear all,
first of all, imran khan who has the courage doesnot belongs to fuedals, establishment and thats why lack support. Who says in Pakistan votes mean public opinion?
In our land of pure, its ‘baradri, chaudri, wadera, khan, or heavily armed persons’ influence approx 90% of votes given to these educated parlimentarians. Do you people expect that in such environment, Imran Khan party will get fair votes???
Apart from that, for rulers, we should remember law of nature
‘ Arooj kay baad zawal lazmi ata hai’
God Bless PAKISTAN
Dear All,
If we contemplate the state of Pakistani politics we will find that honest and sincere people can be counted on fingertips. I have no doubt in my mind that Imran Khan in one such person. Infact I am convinced in my mind that after Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Pakistan has once again been blessed with a leader with vision. A man who can lead Pakistan to the pinnacle of glory.
Imran has shown enormous courage in taking the fight to an organisation known to be terrorist. MQM , a creation of ISI has grown into a monster and now educated urdu speaking people are begining to keep a distance from it. A fascist party with fascist tactics is ruling Karachi using terror. Imran is the first one to speak out against them and now slowly others have started to follow but still with muted voice. We have to support Imran for the sake of Pakistan, we have to support Imran for the sake of sanity, we have to suuport Imran for the sake of truth. Maybe this is the begining of the end for Altaf and that will be a welcome day for Pakistan.
Lets support Imran fully, he is a leader in the making. MQMs disgusting effort to bring his personal life into disrepute hardly hold any water as Imran has always said that he is not a saint. But look at his political career. It shows he is incorruptible , ethical , visionary and has been blessed with the capability of leadership. I pray for the long life of Imran and his success.
http://tinyurl.com/2cx66g
The interview is another sign of the media and intelligentia taking Imran and his team very seriously. PTI needs all the good people it can get. This is the time…….
Thank you for this first hand report. I also sense that this tyime Imran is more serious about this. Whether he wins in election or not does not matter as long as he persirts on this issue.
I find it amazing when people talk about imrans morality!!!!the sita white case!they take it as it is effecting pakistan!but the scounderers like Ishrat ul ibaad who is the prime suspect in Hakeem Saeed case,went on asylum in UK,is now the Governor of sind!!!talk abt morality!accepting a daughter outta wedlock is a bad thing,but how it effects pakistan!i rememeber the time when people critised him of marrying jemimma khan!then it was a yahudi sazish!!!
Altaf Hussian is a terrorist!hes in UK and being used by intelligence for keeping down Jamat and PPP support in KHI,he will never come to Pakistan!army has cases against him!its a fact,even Mush paid a visit to this scounderer in UK!the same man who in India called “the partition the biggest blunder “and now ask nay one people like Sattar farooq he will say that is “Altaf bhias personal view” What the hell!!!!!that is personal when it comes to statements and its Pakistan when he does a telephonic speech in khi! One thing has come out good after 12 May is that people of karachi have seen their party!many in mqm are leaving them!
Of Imran Khan,the best he did is he is fighting this man,even if he brings this skunk to gallows or outta Uk to Pak!Godwilling,it will be his biggest achievement!forget PMship even if he dun win a seat!ill call him a Patriotic Pakistani!his patriotism is evident that he has jumped in politics when he has everything! everything!u name it aand he has it!but he just carries pakistani citizenship!and lives in pakistan!and strolls the streets and built a hospital,and is now buolding a Uni in mianwali!
What did army do with Bhutto? he was accused of sharab!today Mush drinks!but what corruption charges were agaianst bhutto? NONE that is y his party is the biggest party in pakistan!coz he had a principle!and never ran away from situation!
PS: not a TI or PPP man.an independent neutral view…
Well so the great Khan wants to rid the UK of a terrorist by having Altaf tried in a British court and deported to Pakistan. A most laudible intention one would think. Slight problem though,given that to try and get a conviction on a charge as serious as terrorism, Khan will have to provide overwhelming evidence of Altaf’s involvement in acts of terror as understood by a British court. Violent phaddas between rival groups are a part and parcel of Pakistani politics and sadly will not count. Every political party and every political leader in Pakistan has, at some stage of their political career, engaged in such acts and if Khan’s definition of terrorism was taken at face value (highly unlikely under the British judicial system) then every Pakistani politician would qualify to be a terrorist and every Pakistani political party would have to be banned as a terrorist organisation.
No guys, i am afraid this all boils down the the one conclusion that almost every Karachiite i have spoken to has come to. This has nothing do with terrorism. After all whilst Khan has been in London the Lal Masjid operation has been taking place and terrorists have been threatening the very soul of Pakistan as a viable state. Did Mr. Khan come out and utter one word of condemnation?? sadly not. No, Khan has yet again shown, as have all the other assorted failed politicians and political parties who are using Khan as their stooge, that they simply refuse the accept the mandate given to the MQM by the Urdu speaking people of urban Sindh. Thats what it boils down to guys. Had Altaf cut a deal with this failed lot and sold his constituents down the river, as all the other failed lot have so regularly done over the past 60 years of Pakistan’s existence, there would not be a problem. Altaf would have been invited as a VIP guest in that APC in London (what a comedy of errors that was guys!!), he would have no doubt sat right next to Mian Nawaz Sharif, made to sign that worthless, joke peice of paper that all the others so shamelessly signed and all would be well.
Come on Khan, be honest for a change. You just hate the Urdu speakers (as do the other failed lot) and you want nothing better then to see their leader hung, draw and quartered and the Urdu speakers trampled upon just for their sin of not agreeing with your “lota
MQM believes in one God and that is Altaf bhai and Musharraf is his prophet according to them.
well mr khan is the only succsor to bhutooism now becsue the pakistan pp factions have come under us imperalism now just look at them they r part of the liberal/capitalist estabilshment nowdays hahhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaa.
well guess who was the adviosr to za bhutto it was mr mejraj mohammad khan and he was also the founder of both the old PPP and PTI of imran khan and also imran khan still has strong support from the nationalstic/leftist NATIONAL STUDENT FEDARTION just like za bhutto who breaway from the NSF and created his own faction CALLED PSF but khan is not doing that even he is more leftist the za bhutto in his gereal anti-american socalism.
well i agree that imran khan has the fundamental support from the most well organised student fedartion of pakistan, the leftist NATIONAL SUTDENT FEDERTION, NSF, which is unlike the pro-US congress in india these days.