fair enough. I guess these beardless moulvis are the same ones who get wet listening to that serial liar Zaid Hamid.
but regardless of whether these moulvi types vote for Imran or JI (and I think they will favor the original flavor which is JI. why go for crazy-lite when you go for the real crazies?), they remain statistically insignificant in terms of electoral politics. I think people have learned their lesson especially after what MMA did to Pakhtunkhawa in Musharraf's dictatorship.
which is slightly sad in a way... because no one can doubt Imran's integrity as a person. he is undoubtedly an honest man... it is possible to be conservative and anti-US imperialism without supporting support suicide bombings and Taliban... wish someone would go tell Imran that.
you're right in that IK has a ways to go before he can be competition for JI, and JI with all their infrastructure and ability to muster up numbers is far from being a democratic force. So yes with the current policies he has he can only go so far.
it is really sad about the stances he has and the company he keeps as far as the terrorism issue goes. Bedfellows with Qazi and Hamid Gul.
On a broader note, he is risking now sounding like someone permanently stuck in opposition mode. Is it time for him to run in an election himself, win a seat, and try to get into some sort of government role? Ofcourse its hard to win much power with just one seat.
you're right in that IK has a ways to go before he can be competition for JI, and JI with all their infrastructure and ability to muster up numbers is far from being a democratic force. So yes with the current policies he has he can only go so far.
it is really sad about the stances he has and the company he keeps as far as the terrorism issue goes. Bedfellows with Qazi and Hamid Gul.
On a broader note, he is risking now sounding like someone permanently stuck in opposition mode. Is it time for him to run in an election himself, win a seat, and try to get into some sort of government role? Ofcourse its hard to win much power with just one seat.
undoubtedly.... Imran needs to contest an election and get back into the parliament. he might become slightly relevant then.
I was listening to Justice (R) Tariq Mehmood yesterday. (on a side note, he is such an honest, dignified and wise man. I have all the respect in the world for him. people like him are national treasures. a man I admire greatly) and he said that the biggest blunder that the lawyers' movement made was boycotting the elections. and that this decision was made by the second tier leadership of the movement as the leading lights were in Musharraf's jail. he also said that the lawyers' call was rejected by the people and despite the colossal blunder, the lawyers' community was forgiven by the people, political parties, media, etc.
but the question arises... what exactly was Imran's excuse? he isn't a lawyer. he is a politician. he should have known better. why did he boycott the elections when all other relevant, mainstream political parties were participating? Imran was already irrelevant but that decision along with his sympathies for terrorists has made him invisible as well.
shows the hypocricy of people though, they say they want political change but are willing to vote for the mainstream parties all the time whether it is ppp/pml or mqm. for all of Imran's idiocy there is surely no calculus going on in the awam un naas that is saying hm okay i'll take zardari's corruption, altaf's nasl parasti over imran's taliban fetishes. its just them voting for who they think will win.
it would be difficult for imran to break through even if he wasnt a total nonce on terrorism.
Imran Khan can never lead Pakistan. The fundamental conflict of his character will clash too heavily with the religious groups after a very brief honeymoon (because he will refuse to accede to certain things the religious will expect); he will also have a very difficult time reconciling to the role that the military will expect.
Call it the curse of exposure to the west, call it the tyranny of inner conflicts....in my opinion he has too many contradictions and unresolved issues that have and will continue to prevent him from taking any firm steps towards power.
Finally, the very thing that attracts many to him, ie he is not their regular politician, is also his great weakness. Somebody who has no prior experience in running a large anything may be able to make up for it by surrounding themselves with a lot of experienced people. But to do that they need at least people skills and political experience which Imran clearly lacks.
The biggest service he can do to Pakistan I think is to lend his name and influence in bringing together a group of wise statesmen, and give them a voice. That will demand a certain degree of selflessness which actually I think Imran will sooner or later acquire
In current political situation in Pakistan , its very obvious that no one is happy with both the major parties i.e. Nawaz-League & Zerdari-League . I think this is the best time for any political party who wants to emerge as a third option . MQM is playing a very wise game now and trying to spread through Punjabi using this time , but Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is very much slow with this process . This is the time when they can show people what alternative system they have to fix Pakistan and can try to win their votes for the future elections .
May be they are waiting for some later time , but as they say that time waits for none . This is a golden opportunity for them to advertise their policies and convince people that they can deliver . One thing is very obvious that their party structure is very much hidden from the eyes of people (if there is any) . What you guys think will be the best time for PTI to really go public with a mindset of winning the next elections ?
Earlier i thought PTI can play important role atleast in Punjab, they can pose threat to current ruling elite, my estimates were based on assumptions that they PTI shall be able to attract the right people to provide leadership and solutions to the problem.. but i didn't see anyone but Imran Khan in the party and that is also him taking the task ( running PTI) as a part-time job... so a possible threat which could have changed the political approach ( like bhutto did it in late 60s) and have wiped up the political climate turned out to be false alarm.
PTI can not blame anyone but itself, the leadership ( comprise of one man, i don't know if there are others) just turned out to be "criticism for the sake of criticism" no solutions for the problems at hand and on top of that selecting rejected people like Ijaz Khan Jazi and one from Mian Mairaj Family has final nail in the coffin...
The Policy maker(s) ( i don't know if i can use the plural term) of the PTI seems to be living in 80s or 90s where a simple slogan or a good speech can win you a election/sympathy... they need the change in the party first then only they can bring it to the country..
MQM on the other hand has seen the opportunity, they had been keen observer they have hit the nail right, yes they had to let go their fascist behavior and they need to address the right needs of the people of Punjab, i think if they play their cards right they might be able to create some problem for the current political elite of Southern Punjab... they have to do lots and lots of work to get benefit from the incompatibility of current leadership and Political vacuum... which i see is not impossible if MQM appoint people with good reputation... I remember in earlier when MQM tried to enter Punjab they got all the 10 numbri people appointed as their representatives hence rejected by the masses...
to be sure though, given the paucity of political talent, ambition and integrity Pakistan has, it is a shame if this is all there is to the Imran Khan political story. he needs to retool himself, figure out that the arch-nationalist hamid gul/zaid hamid/ji-lite thing isnt working, and make headlines on one of the other, many, many serious issues we face in our country, instead of alienating everyone with half a brain by being a spokesperson for the religious/militant right.
as an early supporter of IK i'd happily go back to his camp if he mended his ways. and if he employed some of the same organizational skills he used to build his many projects to grow his party.
I think IK as politician has been total failure, and he is doing exactly what JI has been doing for last 60+ years, and that is playing negative politics. It doesn't help.
Btw, its easy to sit and criticize others, but your criticism only has validity when you offer better solutions to country's problems than the people you criticize.
So, what are PTI's solutions for the war against killer terrorists, poverty, energy, economy, etc? Can someone post anything where PTI stands for something, except the Taliban?
^ simple. they dont like poverty, they'd like more energy and they dont mind a good economy. having settled all that PTI would like to make it clear that America should not have invaded Afghanstan and this is just a reaction.
I could say alot but cannot concentrate right now so:
I think PTI has been infested with bad advice most probably by JI (anti Pakistan party) or talibans (financed by india) to prevent any honest person coming into power to lead Pakistan (After Jinnah). IK needs to understand that even if there were few good peaceful & patriotic talibans, most of them have been killed & if there are any little number of them remaining, they have completely been brain washed by the indians, soviets & dubbaiins. So incase he is supporting JI's or talibanic cause, he is actually supporting indian cause of occupying Pakistan. So ofcourse people like me are never going to vote for PTI unless he disassociates from both JI & talibans.
The 'change' that every patriotic Pakistani felt he could bring into Pakistan leadership & systems, does not carry the same leverage as it did at its' infancy & again that is due to bad advice of affiliating with anti Pakistan parties like JI & talibans.
I personally know 3 Pakistani families & one well established Pakistani business were robbed by al qaeda (or talibans as no one knows if there is any difference) & there are more. Apart from that, upon the indian intructions, talibans have comitted so many crimes against Pakistani nationals overseas & inside of Pakistan & against Pakistani state.
So, obviously, even if somehow he comes to lead Pakistan & he continued to support these two, he would most definitely actually be 'operated' or 'managed' by indian anti Pakistan forces. And if he refused to give in to their intructions, he would get killed by either these two. Just what happened to ZAB, Zia, BB & other leaders who sufferred.
Whatever might be the case, I wish him good luck in taking Pakistan out of this hugest mess in history it has ever seen. I dont know how he would do that given JI & talibans are not leaving him alone & he would continue to suffer from bad advice but I know that he himself is honest to Pakistan & his intentions are very clear without any bollysh!t drama often played by the current leaders.
One more thing.................. can we really be sure there is still a possibility of 'fair' elections in Pakistan now that india has infolterated its' feet much deeper into Pakistani soil (through JI, MQM, talibans, etc.) & there is no way they would allow Pakistan to have an honest man as its' leader who could save Pakistan from further doom.
Personal life of a public figure is public. It shows the character of a person. In order for people to decide who they should vote, it is absolutely essential that we look at personal life of the politicians.
This is what happens all over the world. John Edwards retired as soon as the news of his affair came to light.
Since years MQM playing this wise game without any success. MQM should contain where it is and serve its people in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas and Sukkur. They should strengthen their ties with PPP. Forget about "Punjabi" as you said. They will never be accepted their. Accept this reality and move on.
No success? Thats why people of AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan voted for them. It is no denial MQM is getting popular in rest of the country and InshaALLAH will be all over Pakistan :)
May be you don't know about the current situation of MQM. In Karachi, they have huge number of Punjabi, Hazara, Gilgiti etc supporters. I'm myself a Punjabi and I fully support MQM agenda. I know they have done mistakes in the past and that was when dirty politics were played against them and they responded it with force. MQM wants to be a mainstream political party and others are making hurdles to save their a**** but the day is not far when MQM will be one of the biggest mainstream political party of Pakistan. :)
^^ MQM is the only 'azaab' God has kept Pakistani people saved from until now. Obviously, God 'saving' Pakistanis from more & more adversity is declining by the day. What you have stated above is a prime example.
I cant imagine how Pakistan could survive under the leadership of an ex-rickshaw driver who has said:
"Formation of Pakistan was a 'zulm' on humanity."
So first thing we can expect is him handing Pakistan over to india & forget about our idenities as Pakistanis.
MQM is not a faristha, they have done mistakes in the past but now they want to improve.. Why would u not allow them?
Don't you know about ANP, did they not talked about breaking Pakistan in the past but once allowed to enter mainstream politics, they are muhib-e-watan jamaat.
Doesn't Baloch nationals and parties like Jeay Sindh, Baltistan national front, Balwaristan movement etc have demanded something same and still doing this even with force? What will you do if in future, they want to enter mainstream, will you just say them ghaddar and not allow them?
This behaviour has damaged Pakistan a lot and still a big hurdle...