Re: A change of heart in the making
I agree with every bit of what Hamza Ali Abbasi said. We must not do the same what Bhutto and NS followers have been doing (personality worshiping), instead if Imran Khan goes against the law, he should be answerable to the court of law.
This movement is not about Imran Khan, its about real change. It will take time to get their, but someone has to break status quo as a first step to the destination. No sane Pakistani can differ on these points.
Re: A change of heart in the making
The term ‘cult following’ has to be the most used and abused term on the internet by Pakistani arm chair cynics. It’s like they see a popular political movement, but they don’t see their antagonist high horse riding selves as part of it. So what they do is that they denounce it as ‘cult following’ because that's the only way they can describe it. If every popular political movement is nothing but cult following, then partition of India – the creation of your country itself – is nothing but a result of that same ‘cult following’ that suddenly seems to be a huge problem. Perhaps over million of people would not have been slaughtered in cold blood if our elders hadn’t taken the path of ‘cult following’ a tiny group of self-centred barristers. Of course it’s an utterly bogus and trollish analogy. But you see how ridiculous this term sounds when it’s mindlessly thrown around on every available occasion to describe a popular public campaign or full fledged movement? Stop calling every public campaign you don't support or aren't involved in as 'cult following'.
We need to fight off our chronic disability of not being able to distinguish between causes and personalities. Political movements are called political movements for a reason, and they become popular because of the ideas they represent, and the causes they aim to fight. Say whatever, but PPP at one point in history, represented a certain ideology. It was popularly accepted, thus the party became a movement in many ways. Even the death of Bhutto gave birth to another formidable ideology – a strong anti-dictatorship feeling – which also became a defining public campaign. MQM too, at certain point in the past, represented a legitimate cause and their ideology also attracted a very grass root and dedicated public support. Thus the party’s agenda also became a public campaign. PTI, unlike both those parties, could not spark a massive public campaign and interest at its inception, but it took them 18 years to galvanize a popular public support that we see today. PTI too, like other two mentioned parities, has managed to generate a very public campaign over an ideology that people understand and agree with. This is how politics works, and this how politics also worked in all countries before they managed to establish and institutionalised systems. Randomly chucking in pseudo rock ’n’ roll terms to describe popular political campaigns and phenomenon doesn't always seem like a very smart remark. It sounds nothing, but a lazy, self-pleasing cynical diatribe. How about we start using slightly more relevant and convincing terms to analysis political phenomenon? That term has lost its potency. Honestly, it is hardly nuclear science that personal charisma of leaders play an absolutely vital role in garnering popular support. This is hardly surprising.
But then again, I think now we’d see more frequent and deliberate use of the word because some people will immediately establish the perception that this term somehow is a great way to troll and rile up the PTI crowd, as some sort of opposition for the term has been registered. Great.
Re: A change of heart in the making
I like how suddenly MQM diehards are so much better than PTI supporters. Excellent negative campaigning. Some of the worst fights on this very forum have been between PPP/PMLN and MQM die hards (who at the time used to fight on behalf of Musharraf as well - so you can imagine), way before PTI developed a recognizable presence on the internet. I clearly remember a time when saying anything remotely critical about Karachi or MQM used to earn you the title of 'racist'. Honestly, I'd take the title of Noora or burger any day over racist.
Not that I'm in anyway condoning the behaviour of MQM die hards, but I think it's important to keep things in perspective and present a wishy washy arguments. Indeed, Imran's biggest achievement till date is that he has managed to wake up the sleeping giant of our society - the youth and educated affluent class - but the real challenge for him now is how he can contain their passion. He has admitted that it is a challenge, it is indeed, and it won't be an easy challenge for sure. I just don't want this passion and hope to turn into despair, for sake of Pakistan, not for Imran or PTI. No country in the world can afford to have it's young generation feeling so miserably dejected and excluded. These young people are the ultimate future of your country - listen to them. Reach out to them. Plan your country's future around their future. Listen to them.
....Well just listen to the ones that don't abuse you.
Re: A change of heart in the making
I like how suddenly MQM diehards are so much better than PTI supporters. Excellent negative campaigning. Some of the worst fights on this very forum have been between PPP/PMLN and MQM die hards (who at the time used to fight on behalf of Musharraf as well - so you can imagine), way before PTI developed a recognizable presence on the internet. I clearly remember a time when saying anything remotely critical about Karachi or MQM used to earn you the title of 'racist'. Honestly, I'd take the title of Noora or burger any day over racist.
Though they are not really better Its a temporary phase (I hope).
Re: A change of heart in the making
Though they are not really better Its a temporary phase (I hope).
Most of the educated MQM supporters based their support for the party on Mustafa Kamal, not Altaf Hussain. Ever since Mustafa Kamal has left the party and failure of MQM to produce his duplicate has drove some of the those die hard supporters away from the party. Even Saleem Bhai is in PTI's camp these days. Haha
