Two days after Malala Yousufzai was attacked by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Imran Khan went to the hospital in which she was being treated to show his concern regarding her condition. And yet, when asked a day earlier why he didn’t directly condemn the TTP, Mr Khan had responded as follows:
‘We have local affiliates and supporters. Sure I can give big statements against the Taliban but that would make them [supporters] Taliban targets.”
Shame on you, Mr Khan.
Since you have chosen to present yourself as a potential leader of this country, let me make something clear to you: leaders can’t be cowards. And for you to make that statement while also purporting to sympathise with a girl injured precisely because she stood up for principles that you don’t have the courage to defend is not just cowardice but hypocrisy of the highest order.
Let me break down my last statement. Malala Yousufzai was attacked by the TTP because she stood up for things like the right of girls to a fair education. You have condemned that attack. That means you think Malala was right and her attackers were wrong. At the same time, you refuse to display the same bravery as Malala by openly condemning her attackers.
What does it say about you, Mr Khan, that a 14-year-old girl has more guts than you do? Had she been awake, what would you have said to her? Would you have told her not to be so stupid next time? Would you have told her to just accept the TTP’s belief that women are inferior? Would you have told her that Pakistan needs more cowards, not people like her?
Shame on you, Mr Khan.
Since Mr Khan dropped his clanger, the sentient part of the PTI has attempted to cloak his cowardice with a lot of doubletalk about drones, the war in Afghanistan and the root causes of evil. None of that suffices to excuse Mr Khan’s cowardice.
Let’s begin with drones. So far as I understand it, his argument is that the root cause of the evil is the US war in Afghanistan and that militants like the TTP are driven into acts of hatred by the violence unleashed by the US and now perpetuated through drone attacks.
This is bull**** of a high order.
The fundamental fact that Mr Khan and his cohorts either fail or deliberately refuse to appreciate is that the TTP and the Afghan Talibs are two very different groups.
The Afghan Talibs consist of groups indigenous to Afghanistan whose primary aim is to overthrow the US’s supported government of Afghanistan and to take over power in Afghanistan. Afghan Talibs have a beef with the state of Pakistan only to the extent that the state of Pakistan helps the US in fighting those Talibs. Many of the leaders of the Afghan Talibs have taken up residence in Fata and Balochistan, just across the Pak-Afghan border. It is these leaders in Fata who have been targeted by the US through drone attacks. If the US was to leave Afghanistan tomorrow and if the Afghan Talibs were to retake power in Afghanistan, the Afghan Talibs would have no fundamental dispute with Pakistan.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan consists of groups indigenous to Pakistan whose primary aim is to overthrow the elected government of Pakistan and to take over power in Pakistan. The TTP does not accept the legitimacy of the Pakistani state. The TTP attacks the citizens of Pakistan through suicide bombs and kills Pakistani soldiers. Even if the US leaves Afghanistan tomorrow and even if the Afghan Talibs take over Kabul, the TTP will continue to fight in Pakistan, continue to kill Pakistani soldiers and continue to attack people like Malala Yousufzai. Conflating the TTP with the Afghan Talibs into one giant amorphous mass is not just stupid, it’s criminally stupid. It is at the same order of analysis as “two legs good, four legs bad.”
The distinction between the two groups is in fact made more evident by drone attacks. The state of Pakistan does not have drones and therefore does not use drones to fight the TTP. The US does have drones and it does use them to attack the Afghan Talibs but with a few very limited exceptions such as Baitullah Mehsud, there have been no drone attacks against the TTP. Trying to justify the TTP’s actions with reference to drones is therefore idiotic. One may as well justify the TTP with reference to poverty in Swaziland or Pakistan’s failure to win a World Cup match against India.
Please note that distinguishing between the TTP and the Afghan Talibs is not the same as saying that drone attacks are justified: that is an entirely different debate. It probably does not behove the sovereign state of Pakistan to meekly accept the invasion of its airspace by the US. But even if Pakistan should be aggressively acting against drones, that has nothing to do with the challenge to Pakistan’s sovereignty by the TTP. And if you, Mr Khan, cannot understand that logic, then you are unfit to lead this country.
Let me make another thing clear: Mr Khan says that it is a tragedy for Pakistan to be bombing its own people. Actually, no.
States use violence against their own citizens their whole time. A citizen who steals is jailed for theft. A citizen who kills another person is executed for murder. And citizens who take up arms against their own country are guilty of treason and thereby liable to be shot.
The same goes for the “root cause” argument. Frankly, I couldn’t care less what inspires or motivates the TTP. I know that the TTP doesn’t accept the legitimacy of my country or my elected government. I know that they kill my fellow citizens. I know that they kill the soldiers who fight for my security. I don’t need to know the “root cause” of the TTP’s beliefs any more than I need to know about the childhood traumas of a psychopath threatening my family.
Pakistan doesn’t need cowards, Mr Khan. Shame on you for adding to their number.
*Published in The Express Tribune, October *16[SUP]th[/SUP], 2012.
My take: another one of those 'fashionable' articles. All good to bash Imran Khan but If you are so passionate about taliban, come out with ways to eliminate them.
No, you'd come out with stupid thesis like this:
......Let me make another thing clear: Mr Khan says that it is a tragedy for Pakistan to be bombing its own people. Actually, no. States use violence against their own citizens their whole time. A citizen who steals is jailed for theft. A citizen who kills another person is executed for murder. .
The state needs identification and location of the criminal before arresting him/her, takes him/her to court, convicts and then the criminal is put to jail or executed. THIS IS NOT STATE VIOLENCE stupid. State violence would be to bomb the neighborhood where a suspected murderer resides.
The same goes for the “root cause” argument. Frankly, I couldn’t care less what inspires or motivates the TTP. I know that the TTP doesn’t accept the legitimacy of my country or my elected government. I know that they kill my fellow citizens. I know that they kill the soldiers who fight for my security. I don’t need to know the “root cause” of the TTP’s beliefs any more than I need to know about the childhood traumas of a psychopath threatening my family........
Treating symptoms of a disease would not make it go away unless the causes of the disease are eliminated.
There is nothing shameful for him or his 'Nirralas'
Meray Mahboob dian adawan tay dekho
Manjee tay beh kay joon kadthee ay
میرے محبوب دیاں اداوں تے ویکھو
منجی تے بہہ کے جوں کڈدی ایے
Infact , if you really want to know who the coward are .. then why not look at those who are sitting in awaan e sadar , who have the entire state machinery under their feet and still cant manage to take any action against the criminals...
You people have the audacity to call Imran khan a coward.. Perhaps getting your facts right might help considerably. He doesnt belong to a fat cat political khandan who can hire gunday hitman left right and center. He is a civilian leader and not in power , no government machinery at his disposal . Stop spreading propaganda against him all the time ..
The day he comes in power inshallah and then shows diplomacy in handling these matters, you have the right to call him a coward that day. But not now ..
Its funny how IK has turned in to a "conservative" . Given his flashy background and his fan following one would think he should be a ultra liberal.
Also, now actually things come together. Is it his fear of army that he never says anything against them in Pak, but when he is in India he claims that he will bring army under his control if he gets elected.
He is JUST another politician. The sooner his friends and enemies realize this, the better.
Its about time for his followers to forget “Inqalabi talks” and bring him down from “Imran is God” status and treat him as better (or less worst) options among worst politicians.
When you compare him with Zardaris, Nawazs, Bloors, Altafs, Jamatis, Chaudhris and other, its the matter of Devil you know vs Devil you dont.
Decent, out of all the idiots mentioned in the list, Imran khan is by far the most accomplished, educated, polished self made man , I believe adding him to that list without giving him a fair chance is not right on any level.
So far all the pathetic politicians have been given no less then three chances to prove themselves and each time they ditch the nation and mind you, they all back each other up from security to their kaale kertoot. The political setup in Pakistan is clearly running mafia style . To survive in that environment, for a civilian who is like you and me , takes guts in its own right .. its not only IK, but even if it was you or me , we would have to take calculated steps to get entangled into that mafia setup to get somewhere ..
Its NOT an easy job , to do so .. and its not right to expect IK to make "statements" left right and center that would make him become an immediate killing target ..** losing his life is not the agenda here , getting to the top and then dealing head on with problems is what IK is all about .. **
If one cant support him, lets not diss his either !
Yes he is better than others mentioned in the list but he is no God (as his supported portrays him). There is no harm in accepting his shortcomings that only help people come clean. Even if you criticize some of his act on merit, you get such a furious reply from his supporters as if he is God. Lets keep his human status active and do not make his images appear on stone in mosque and leafs of trees. Karachites from 80s know what I am talking about.
He has proved with his flip-flops, compromises and other acts during last 2-3 years that he is just a devil we don’t know.
I am not commenting on the contents as anyone can criticise anyone. What I was aghast at was the language which was allowed by ET. I saw the article day before yesterday and wrote a comment on the article which never appeared on their website. And all I wrote was that serious newspapers do not use such langauge.
At the end, it was a blog piece which went to press as it is. We all know ET's preferences and at least I am fine with it. It's their prerogative. But if you use proper language, it only adds to your arguments.
Yeh, shame on Imran. He doesnt want Waziristan to be carpet bombed. Doesnt he know that the civilians who live in Waziristan are not humans, and deserve death for living in the same square mile as a handful of terrorist.
Total number of people killed in Karachi alone, from Jan to Sep 2012.....almost 1800, according to figures released by the interior ministry yesterday. 120 people killed in the last 15 days. Thats 8 people a day. And none of that was related to Talibani terrorism. It was all your local terrorists.... MQM ,ANP and PPP. What has the government done to fix things in Karachi so far? zilch.
what do you find wrong in language apart from the word bullshyt which is slang for nonsense in not so good way?
Given your 'soft corner' for IK, I can understand your frenzy over the piece.
As I said that criticism is not a problem at all. But the way it is done is important. This article is fine for a blog entry, but newspapers generally follow a code of language and style, something which is missing in this case.
Infact , if you really want to know who the coward are .. then why not look at those who are sitting in awaan e sadar , who have the entire state machinery under their feet and still cant manage to take any action against the criminals...
You people have the audacity to call Imran khan a coward.. Perhaps getting your facts right might help considerably. He doesnt belong to a fat cat political khandan who can hire gunday hitman left right and center. He is a civilian leader and not in power , no government machinery at his disposal . Stop spreading propaganda against him all the time ..
The day he comes in power inshallah and then shows diplomacy in handling these matters, you have the right to call him a coward that day. But not now ..
That courageous guy hasent had enough galls to go and visit Balochistan and FATA and try solve the matter by involving the tribals (to isolate the militants) and bringing about constitutional reforms there.
I am not commenting on the contents as anyone can criticise anyone. What I was aghast at was the language which was allowed by ET. I saw the article day before yesterday and wrote a comment on the article which never appeared on their website. And all I wrote was that serious newspapers do not use such langauge.
At the end, it was a blog piece which went to press as it is. We all know ET's preferences and at least I am fine with it. It's their prerogative. But if you use proper language, it only adds to your arguments.
ET seems to be a CIA mouthpiece, most of its news items seem to be propaganda in any case. Some times they just publish news for the sake of it without even confirming it, which at times proves to be wrong.
from “Imran is God” status and treat him as better (or less worst) options among worst politicians.