Divanee – South Asian news and entertainment

Flood relief is hard work in a country beset with a problematic corrupt government the world does not trust. Getting media attention for the floods was hard enough, getting sympathy is tragically even harder.

When the likes of Angelina Jolie visit Pakistan, donating a substantial amount from their own personal funds, and go back with horror stories of the First Family throwing lavish feasts and turning her visit into a celebrity circus instead of the strategic meetings to save the displaced millions she had hoped for, one really can’t blame the world for turning a blind eye to the plight of ‘Drownistan.’ There are more deserving candidates like Haiti and Indonesia, who will actually put their aid money towards reconstruction efforts, and not the President’s Chateaux Fund.

It’s apropos then that I dedicate the third article of the flood series to Imran Khan, the so-called third political force in the Islamic Republic. I had the immense luck of being invited to an intimate “baithak” with the dashing former cricketer-turned-philanthropist, turned-politician.

Photo: Express Tribune (PK)

In a political clime of mergers and acquisition between the many Muslim Leagues and People’s Parties that hover on the horizon, Imran’s Pakistan Therik-i-Insaaf (Movement for Justice), or PTI as it is commonly known, has been free of the lotacracy Pakistan’s politics are famous for. Imran has been the obvious answer to Pakistan’s leadership vacuum for the longest time, yet his bid for office has remained a bit of a farce.

I’d like to put in a disclaimer that in my nomadic life, I’ve only been of age and had the right of suffrage in one election in my lifetime, the 1997 elections in Pakistan, where PTI first came to fore. I voted Imran, and unless there is a revolutionary new candidate on the horizon (NONE), I’ll vote for him again. He is the only core candidate who is clean, and based on his altruism alone, bound for sainthood. From Shaukat Khanum Memorial, a cancer hospital where he treats free of charge those who can’t afford treatment, in the memory of his mother who succumbed to the disease, to Pukkaar Foundation, that was on of the few disaster management agencies of choice for most people donating during the 2005 earthquake, and has again emerged as a major force during flood relief efforts.

How has he remained marginalized?

Some of it can be attributed to his over-ethical sense of justice, such as his refusal to serve as Premier to the former President Pervez Musharraf. At other times its been very bad judgment on his part, such as boycotting the 2008 election, which left the landscape open for Zardari, to engineer his rise to the throne of Pakistan’s parliamentarian system of governance. A lot of the blame rests on a political system so incestuously intertwined with feudalism, that in many regions no vote is cast without the express nod from the local wadera. All that said and done, I think the main problem afflicting PTI right now is Imran Khan himself.

Imran Khan

The most oft repeated question of the soiree was a variation of when PTI would allow a broader spectrum of personalities to see the light of day, flourish and perhaps win a seat or two.

“Imran ,when will we see someone other then yourself come to fore?”

“Imran, why is it that after 15 years of struggle, the complexion of PTI remains unchanged from Day 1?”

“Imran, who other then you is in the party? Who?”

“Imran, why are you the only face ever allowed to communicate with the media?”

“Imran, my colleague was a dedicated worker for 10 years, finally quit because they saw no scope of advancement in the party.”

Imran, in his traditional style  – often misinterpreted as arrogance, but more then likely it’s the frustrated response of an evolved specie dealing with neanderthals like us – swept the allegations of PTI being a cult of personality under the carpet, insisting:

“PTI is the only democratic party in Pakistan with regularly held elections. It’s not the struggle that’s over, it’s you people who don’t have the will to struggle.”

He made some valid points, about how PTI has gone from having zero influence to being second in several of the bi-elections that have recently happened. But for Zardari’s Drownistan, Imran’s PTI coming in second isn’t good enough. We need him now. The time is past for incremental, evolved, ethics-based growth for PTI. I urge Imran to broker a deal, get in helm of affairs, guide us out of the hellhole we seem to be cyclically stuck in.

Explaining his vision for the future

To quote the Khan himself: “No systems are implemented from the grass-roots up. Change comes from the top.”

Please be the change Pakistan needs, because there is no one right now that I trust with my country. Prove your critics wrong who question your statesmanship, and lead this country, just like you led our cricket team to that fantastic win in the 1992 World Cup.

Before he left for an appearance on a talk show, I managed to get a few minutes alone with Imran Khan.

On fears of Talibanization:

“Talibanization can’t happen in Pakistan, because we aren’t geared towards justice, not in our religious creed, or our educational systems or society. We have three different systems of education, Urdu-medium, English-medium and religious, which are creating a divided populace. On top of it we counter fundamentalism violently, like the attacks on Laal Masjid, which further the cause of the reactionaries. We need to counter fundamentalism through knowledge like Iqbal.”

On restructuring Pakistan:

“Without an independent judiciary, and a proper taxation system change will never happen. Honest truth is, things are going to get worse here.”

How discouraging…but then I popped the one question everyone was dying to ask.

“What’s the inside scoop, when is Zardari leaving?”

Imran sized me up with his characteristic deep stare, and boomed:

“I predict he’ll be out by January.”

Amen to that! And if there is any truth to the rumor of a joint-led effort with Pervez Musharraf as president and Imran as premier [PM flip flops on that one], I can only use Punjabi expression of joyous welcome, since no other term will do justice: “Ji aya nu”!

Do you think Imran Khan’s party will rule Pakistan?