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 graciously, and briefly, and then then nearly all of us made the best of the overnight flight by going off to sleep. Of course, I first watched the ‘Tribute to a Legend’ show on Pakistani 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.
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.
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
@ 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.
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.
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.