Pakistan: The Imran Khan Syndrome
Posted on 22. Feb, 2012 by Nosherwan Shahid Shaikh in Pakistan
Imran Khan addressing a rally
By Nosherwan Shahid Shaikh
The people of Pakistan have the talent of following one another, be it in the quest of choosing a career or choosing a leader. Pakistan has successfully created doctors, engineers and MBA’s all in one lineage. And have now embarked on following the one and only Imran Khan, whom no one cared for the last fifteen years. Where was all the youth fifteen years ago, where were all these people who have joined PTI now fifteen years ago?
Leading and managing a victory in Cricket is way different than running and leading a country. Barack Obama also came to power with slogans for change and even Imran Khan is branding the same slogans of change, but does that really mean he can bring change. Is he really going to be the one bringing about change or would a parliament headed by him bring about a change?
I am not against Imran Khan, maybe my vote will go for him, but this colonial ideology of following each other needs to be broken down. Even before he has been in power the rumour mill has it, that he has the support of the establishment, what will happen once he comes to power, what mockery the establishment will make out of him is yet to be seen.
The people of Balochistan have suffered and they seem to suffer again, as Imran Khan says he will go talk to the Baloch people in Quetta, tell me how many Baloch live in Quetta? Baloch live in rural areas, it is those people like the people in Mianwali who he need to go and talk to, not the urban elites of Quetta. It is the Mengal’s, the Bizenjo’s, like the Chaudry’s and Malik’s of Punjab.
People were ardent fans of Musharaff when he was in power, they were ardent fans of this Gilani led government when they came to power, did they all not meet the same fate. How the youth of today is blindly following the caravan of Tsunami is difficult to gauge as Imran Khan has never had a chance to prove what he is about.
It has also been observed by many notables, that it is more about Imran Khan than about PTI, PPP is not about Zardari, not about Gilani, but about Aitazaz Ahsan, Makhdoom Amin Fahim and many others who had the chance to work with Z. A. Bhutto or Benazir Bhutto. PML-N is not about Nawaz Sharif or Shahbaz Sharif, but about Ahsan Iqbal and Ch. Nisar. But, PTI seems to be about Imran Khan alone. PTI has won the support of Shah Mehmood Qureishi, Javed Hashmi who previously enjoyed great positions in other political parties, but PTI has failed to attract any notable woman who could rally for the support of women in Pakistan.
Building a Hospital and a University creates no doubt about Imran Khan’s intent to make Pakistan a better place to live in, but is it important that this is done by being in Politics. Prof. Yunus Grameen of the Grameen Bank, Bangladesh was met with extreme opposition when he tried to stand for elections, it is not imperative that helping the poor, working for the social sector guarantees you political support. Politics is widely viewed as a dirty game by wise people, so is Imran Khan really wise, or is he the best of what is there who has not had a chance?
It is important for us, the youth today to think before we leap when we make decisions for our beloved country. It is high time we learn from our past experiences and PTI learns from the mistakes of other political parties to make Pakistan a better place to live in. Pakistan Zindabad!
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Nosherwan Shahid Shaikh
