In an uncivilized turn of events, the chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan was manhandled at the Punjab University Campus today. He was later arrested by the police. A group of students kept him detained on the campus and later turned him over to the police. According to Dawn’s Report:
Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf chairman Imran Khan was arrested from outside the Punjab University’s new campus on Wednesday after he had been manhandled and detained in the campus allegedly by activists of the Islami Jamiat Talaba. Imran Khan had gone to the university at the invitation of a joint action committee of students.
The visit had been approved by Qazi Hussain Ahmed, chief of Jamaat-i-Islami, to which the IJT is affiliated. On his arrival at the campus, the PTI chief was confronted reportedly by a group of IJT activists who kicked him around and punched him. They took him to a room in the Centre for High Energy Physics and detained him there for about 45 minutes.
This is an interesting (and sad) turn of events. Imran Khan‘s party and the mother party of IJT are both partners in APDM. Imran and Qazi have been seen together in many media photo shoots for the past year or so. Will today’s action by IJT guys will cause long term bad-blood between the two parties? It is left to be seen.
We strongly believe that inspite of political differences, no person deserves physical bashing and humiliation as was met out to Imran. Political differences should never be taken to such extreme where people use force to get their point across. It is wrong. Shame on those who manhandled him. I was recently reading an article on political bashing in the Wall Street Journal. It had a punch line which just kept resonating with me. It read:
Our politics suffer when passions overcome reason and vitriol becomes virtue.
Details on Imran‘s manhandling can be read here, here, here and here.
Saima Nasir @
RIGHT YOU ARE !!!
(I have been in Pakistan many times, I live in Scandinavia).
-and I do have to tell a thing here that changed quite a lot in my approach to understanding the challenges Pakistan is facing.
A friend of mine, he is not a muslim was to go to Pakistan as an engineer.
He came back , and I and he had a coffee.
His face was pale when I asked him about his trip to Pakistan. He said ;
I went to Pakistan and did find Islam but where were the muslims, all to few in number.
I am back here in Scandinavia, no Islam here but many muslims………..
I was first honest too say , just in the mood to be arguing with him, and then by second third, fourth thought it penetrated to the windings of my cerebral “capacity”, what this good man was lecture
http://www.newsweek.com/id/70374
Khush-kismat hey woh jo
Zindagi-Bhar Zinda Raha
Salute to all the people from all the segments of society who have the courage to stand-up and be counted…..
…yeh to chalti hey tujhe ouncha uraaney ke liye…
Sometimes one wonders “why is our nation always ruled by corrupt politicians and generals?” Why?Suddenly the answer is clear (through such episodes)…. “we don’t respect honest and righteous men and women.”
This was a shameful act by the PU goons pretending to be Islamic activists- they have once again proven how their sponsors have allowed them to hijack the University and its management.
However, Mr Khan appears to be a little naive – he should have figured out the mullah-M nexus by now – if he did not then it is a little sad given that so many of Pakistan’s urban educated segments support him.
History has its lessons which cannot be ignored…!