Adil Najam
There is probably no period in Pakistan’s political history that was more central to defining the political contours of the country than the period which defined the rise, and ultimately the fall, of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Trauma is a permanent condition in Pakistan politics, especially today. But Pakistan politics, even as it unfolds today, was really “made” in that period.
Few people have witnessed, participated, and deliberated upon this “making of Pakistan politics” as closely or as astutely as Mairaj Mohammed Khan. A friend sent me this recent interview of Meraj Mohammed Khan which is worth listening to in full.
Student leader, progressive activist, Bhutto’s protege, and later an outcast from the Pakistan People’s Party, Meraj Mohammad Khan’s reminisces on that era are at once articulate and insightful. The events he is talking about are monumental: the creation of Pakistan, the heydays of progressive student politics in Pakistan, the rise of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the creation of Bangladesh, the fall of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Imran Khan in politics, and much more. His views on all of this and more are at once articulate and insightful. Some may well be self-serving: he is, after all, a politico. The interview, in four parts, gives rare insights into the politics that was, and why the politics that is is the way it is!
It is also a very charming conversation between two men who have seen much and who are obviously comfortable in each other’s company; who obviously enjoy that company and are enjoying this discussion. This comfort between the interviewer and interviewee, I think, adds layers of poignancy to the conversation. Enjoy:
I know many reasons why people left India. Today I found out that some were forced out of their homes long after partition just because of their religion.
Perhaps someone should seek Khan sahib’s opinions on how to reform judiciary. He was passionately talking about it towards the end.
Well I hope that apart from appreciating MMK we also try to understand why he left PPP and what ZAB did to him in return.
I also wanted to know why the so called successfuls i.e Sharifs,Zardaries etc are successful people like MMK,Asghar Khan are failures. What does this reflect?BTW I am pasting here a link to Asghar Khan’s most recent interview with Dr Pirzada. Please listen to one of the most honest man of our political history and try to answer the above questions.
http://pkpolitics.com/2010/02/15/dunya-today-15-fe bruary-2010/
I have great respect for Mairaj Khan because he was one of the very few people who stood up to Bhutto and for the rights of Bengalis in 1971.
Bhutto was a complex character. And certainly unlike all others in Pakistan history.
What I am fascinated by in this interview is that despite being against Bhutto on so many things Meraj Mohammad Khan still cannot get himself to say anything bad about him. Bhutto was quite a man!
He was always known in Karachi as a powerful speaker, honest politician and someone who always opposed military rule – rightly so.