These days twitter is full of tweets from Pakistanis, including from those living in USA, Canada, and UK, supporting former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has been in a Pakistani jail since August 2023.
Some of such tweets are :
” Imran Khan is an idea whose time has come ”
” Imran Khan says I didn’t come to play the game, I came to change it ”
” Some individuals are born to alter the course of history. The sacrifices Imran Khan is making for the course of justice and truth go far beyond the threat of prolonged imprisonment @salmanAraja ”
It is time Pakistanis are disillusioned about Imran Khan, and I regret it is given to me to bell the cat, and throw some cold water on their faces.
I do not doubt that Imran Khan is relatively honest, as compared to the leaders of the PMLN and the PPP, who are mostly a gang of dacoits who have looted Pakistan.
That having been said, however, let us ask : does Imran Khan have any solution to Pakistan’s real problems of massive poverty and unemployment, skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, appalling level of child malnutrition, almost total lack of proper healthcare and good education for the masses, etc ? He has none. There is really nothing in his head.
All he can do is keep uttering reactionary nonsense like saying he will make Pakistan ‘Madine ki Riyasat’, praising Prophet Mohammed as the most perfect human being who ever existed or will ever exist, calling for a meeting of Islamic countries, etc
The Roman Emperors used to say ” If you cannot give the people bread, give them circuses ”.
Imran Khan, like Gen Zia-ul-Haq says ” If you cannot give the people bread, give them Islam ”.
Imran Khan entered Pakistani politics in 1996 creating a new political party, the PTI, saying he will introduce honesty in public life. But later he realised that he must make compromises if he wants to win elections. So in the 2018 parliamentary elections he gave numerous PTI tickets to dubious ‘electables’ i.e. corrupt businessmen like sugar barons and corrupt politicians.
https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/who-are-the-electables-threatening-imran-khan-s-government-55720
Having made such corrupt ‘dubious electables’ and turncoats MPs, Imran Khan obviously could not take any action against them, as he needed their support in Parliament for his government to survive. What then remained of his slogan for honesty in public life ?
He also took support of religious extremists in the elections, and after becoming Prime Minister expelled Atif Mian, the internationally renowned economist from the Pakistan Economic Advisory Council just because he was an Ahmadi.
In forming his cabinet after the 2018 elections, Imran Khan was not very different from his predecessors. He rewarded opportunism and loyalty through cabinet appointments,
It was therefore not surprising to find people like Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad (minister for railways), Fehmida Mirza (minister for inter-provincial coordination) and Ghulam Sarwar Khan (minister for petroleum) who were rewarded for their defection to/support for PTI
Imran Khan said in his post election speech that he will protect minorities.
But in his election campaign, and even earlier, he repeatedly supported the blasphemy laws which are used to victimise and terrorise minorities, and the Constitutional Amendment declaring Ahmadis as non Muslims, which made them somewhat like Jews in Nazi Germany, and resulted in horrible attacks on them.
While posing to be a modern minded, Oxford educated, man he took support of religious extremists in his campaign. He gave PTI ticket to that notorious Amir Liaquat Hussain whose TV shows caused killings of Ahmadis.
If Imran Khan is serious about it, let him openly say that if any minority community member, Ahmadi or Shia is attacked strong action will be taken against the assailants. Let him say openly that even though he believes Muhammed was the last prophet, others have a right to believe otherwise. Let him say openly that if a person believes that Muhammed was not the last prophet he is not cutting off anyone’s head nor chopping off anyone’s limbs. Everyone, including Ahmadis, have a right to their personal faith, as even Jinnah ( whom Imran often quotes ) said in his speech on 11th August 1947.
But Imran Khan will never say that.
Imran Khan said his fight is against corruption, but he gave PTI tickets to dubious ‘electables’ including crooked politicians and businessmen and turncoats ( called ‘lotas’ in Pakistan )..
He criticised army action in the North Western tribal areas, but he cozied up to the army when he realised that is important for winning elections in Pakistan
Does all this not reveal his hypocrisy ? Does it not show he has two faces, like the Roman god Janus, one modern, suave and liberal looking forward, and the other reactionary, feudal and self centred, looking backward ?
https://justicekatju.com/nimran-khans-serious-mistake-a355b75781d1
Imran Khan took the support of Pakistan’s army in the 2018 parliamentary elections to become Prime Minister, but 4 years later it was that same army which ousted him. He never realised that taking the support of the army is like going for a ride on a tiger.
In this connection I am reminded of a limerick :
” There was a lady from Niger
Who went for a ride on a tiger
They returned from the ride
With the lady inside
And a smile on the face of the tiger ”
