Re: Mr. Imran “I Flip Alot” Khan
I’ve known a few people associated with Imran Khans party..while I don’t care much for him as a person..but I think he came to the same painful realisation that people like Asghar Khan, Tahirul Qadri, Mian Azhar and many others came too…to be backed by the establishment is the kiss of death for any politician with self respect…
You can either look at Imran as an opportunist whose speeches are basically sour grapes for not becoming Prime Minister …
or like his supporters as someone who was twice offered huge concessions ..once by Nawaz Sharif..who offered him 20 to 30 seats in 1997 and in 2000 by musharraf..Imran agreeing to back Musharraf pretty much nearly wiped out his party..in the beginning because Mushy co opted many people from his party..to join the government and later on the PML-Q..in the end before the 2002 elections..The Musharraf League under the command of Chory Shujat attacked him personally ..bought members of his party and tried to ensure he’d lose every seat he contested..
The truth is…he’s made mistakes..and big ones…but that’s politics for you…and who knows with time he might make something of it…
Just a final comment..an article I remember which had some interesting tid bits about what Imran Khan was going through in the 2002 election:
guardian
“I regret supporting the referendum. I was made to understand that when he won, the general would begin a clean-up of the corrupt in the system. But really it wasn’t the case,” he said.
In July the general’s powerful principal secretary, Tariq Aziz, tried desperately to convince Mr Khan to join a pro-military alliance of political parties. But their meeting ended in acrimony. “You will never win your seat now,” Mr Aziz told him.