Ahmer Muzammil
It has become fashionable amongst the enlightened moderate crowd in Pakistan to criticize Imran Khan. He is supposedly the right wing nut that if came in power would lock the women in boxes, ban our daughters and our sisters from going to school, organize Friday beheadings in public square and ban all arts & music from the society. His life and the manner in which he has carried himself to this day testify to the contrary but that’s irrelevant. If you think that extremist, unreasonable, rigid mindsets exists just on the right then in the context of Pakistan you would be sadly mistaken.
For a rabid cricket fanatic who grew up in Karachi in late 80’s early 90’s, it’s doubly hard for someone like me to admire Imran and it’s almost a reflex action to despise him because of the rivalry he had with my childhood hero Miandad. We should all strive however to grow out of our teen prejudices and judge matters on merit.
After all the rhetoric here are the facts. Imran succeeded to establish a state of the Art Cancer Research facility in a 3rd world country. 70% of the patients of Shaukat Khanam Hospital don’t pay a penny for a 1st world Cancer treatment that would cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars elsewhere. Till recently he was the biggest donor to Shaukat Khanam, his yearly contributions usually exceeding 10 million rupees a year. There is no other hospital in the world that provides this level of service free of cost to the patients that can’t afford it.
He recently established a private University in a down-trodden, backward and impoverished region of Mianwali. Namal University is accredited by Bradford University in England, which Imran is a Chencellor of. The graduates of Namal University would have access to the same quality education and therefore will be awarded the same diplomas as the graduates of Bradford University in England. It can be safely assumed that 95% of these impoverished Namal graduates could never even dream of a prestigious diploma like the ones they’ll receive from Bradford, if it weren’t for the almost incessant drive of this great man.
Let me clearly state here that I don’t always agree with Imran on politics, although mostly we are on the same page. But I have no doubt that his stances and his point of views are sincere and they are not colored with self-interest. I think he was wrong on swat because ANP masterfully highlighted the dictatorial tendencies of TTP in swat and turned the public opinion on its head. I also don’t think there is anything noble about a culture that prevent women from access to education and their free will is crushed under the garb of ‘tribal customs’. If Quaid-e-azam made a pact with the people of FATA according to the realities on ground back in 1947 then it’s not blasphemy to reevaluate that social contract. Quaid-e-azam was not a messanger of Allah and he made the best possible decisions according to the circumstances around him and there is no harm in revisiting if it’s for the over-all good of Pakistan.
I agree with Imran that bombing alone isn’t the answer when you are dealing with a territory inside your own border but I don’t quite understand who is that we can really talk with in Waziristan?
It’s a rather complex problem we face in pakistan, a mess of gigantic proportions thanks to the policies of armament of civilians by our military establishments of past, and for what? Nothing but the financial gains of some generals and institutional relevance of Army in the society. Better people would have brought these ex generals in courts and held them responsible for this current mess rather than hearing their sermons on democracy and transparency on TV on Mayray mutabiq. But that’s a different discussion for a different time.
We should keep our differences and criticism in perspective and acknowledge positive efforts of our adversaries. Jamatis should not shy away from appreciating the enormous amount of work Mustafa kamal has done in Karachi and with the same token we should realize that these Zardaris, bhuttos, Chaudhry’s, Geelani’s et al have far more money and influence than Imran but they have done far less good (some would argue they have rather done harm) for the common man of Pakistan. The people of Pakistan should remember this little detail while they are in the voting booth.
Please find the video of Namal College ceremony below. This ceremony was covered by Mujahid Barelvi for his proram Doosra Pehlo for Pakistan CNBC.
ATP’s Earlier Post on Namal College here.
It shows the confusion in Pakistani society. People will give billion of rupees to Imran but not give him votes. However, they will give millions of votes to Robbers Zardari and Sharif but not a single penny.
Imran Khan is the only ray of hope in the current dark scenario. He is the only capable leader who can save the drowning boat of this nation which is currently mis-led by the corrupt and hypocrite politicians.
IK has very clear and logical stand on SWAT, Waziristan and all other national issues and he has a grass root support from the silent majority of the public in these issues. He is a peaceful person and that’s why he emphasizes on the need of dialog.
The establishment of such a great Bradford style University in a remote area like Mianwali is a great achievement of IK which couldn’t be done by even those who have both hands in the national wealth and who claim to give Roti, Kapra and Makan to the people of this land.
IK, we are with you at each and every point. We will continue your support because we want to save this country and we don’t want to see this country destroying by the dirty jobs of corrupt politicians.
LONG LIVE IK, LONG LIVE PTI
I think Imran is trying to become ” Har Fun Maula”.
He should stick to only promotional actvities in the fields of sports, education and social services .He will be reverred and remembered in history
Politics is not his field keeping in view his “Bare Khan Sahibwala” temprament
@Yasir: Will you please enlighten us who should be in politics if Imran should stay away from it?
>>>>On second note I always admired Imran Khan for his philanthropic work but he should seriously stay away from politics.<<<<
LOL…I guess this has lately become a part of anytime anywhere Imran Khan is mentioned, that he should stay away from politics, just like whenever someone mentiones Pakistani filmstar Shahid the second thing that comes out of the mouth is “Oh he was so handsome” (for some weird reason it was only about Shahid both men and women would say that!!)
The article was about Namal or Imran Khan’s politics? can someone please clarify.
On second note I always admired Imran Khan for his philanthropic work but he should seriously stay away from politics.
Below is the link tocomplete program where Mujahid Brelvi ( the Anchor) is talking to the students/administartive staff at Namal.
I think we can disgree with Imran on a few of his stances but to me his integrity and sincerity is beyond doubt. The are where Nama is built is the home of very famous people ( Nawab kalabagh, Shadi khels who Niazi travel service and many retired and serving memebers of the civil servicesand armed forces) but it was Imran who, after winning his first and so far his only election from that constituency, who decided to build a college in 2002. It was inaugurated in 2008 ( 4 months after his term expired!!!!!!!)Now the college is given the status of univeristy and there is a plan to build a knowledge city.
http://insaf.pk/Media/Videos/tabid/62/articleType/ ArticleView/articleId/2955/Doosra-Pehlu-Namal-Univ ersity-A-Dream-into-Reality.aspx
I think Imran Khan’s charitable contributions are exemplary. The Shaukat Khanum hospital is a wonderful institution, and I’m glad that to see the graduation of students from Namal college. If only Imran Khan would give up his reactionary brand of politics and return to philanthropy full time. He’s good at it, he’s honest, and he’ll achieve tangible success.
With that in mind, this title’s post is misleading. Although the writer briefly touches upon Namal College, he doesn’t mention anything about the college itself. Questions such as the subject taught here, the employment prospects of the graduates, the connection to the local community, among others, are not addressed. In fact, the vast majority of this post is a defense of Imran Khan’s politics, rather than a good faith summary/introduction to Namal College. If you want to defend Imran Khan’s political view, then please do so, but don’t try to confuse the reader by dressing up Imran Khan’s political views in this confusing manner.