It seems like not much is left of Imran Khans tehrik-e-insaf.
A shame really, many of it’s original party leaders were absorbed by Musharrafs government.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_20-2-2004_pg3_3
I hope Imran Khan remains his independent self, for he should be able to win re-election. Men like him, as long as they have a public platform, often serve the nation better out of power
Why, I ask myself many a time, has Imran failed to make a significant impact on our national political scene? Had we a presidential form of government, I would certainly vote for him as a candidate. So too, I suspect, would a very large number of Pakistanis (perhaps even a majority). This intriguing paradox deserves a little exploration.
Here is a man with every conceivable plus you can imagine. A national hero who also, wherever cricket is played, has done more for our country’s image than all our political leaders put together. For his dedication and commitment to his cancer hospital, he has earned the gratitude of thousands and the respect of millions of his countrymen. Politicians spend a fortune, and patiently suffer every form of torture, to be recognised and be known by the public. He has no worries on that score. He is not beholden to anyone, is financially independent, and untainted by corruption or scandal. He is telegenic, oozes charisma, and can turn on the charm at will. He is fluent in both English and Urdu and needs no coaching from media experts on how to deal with the press or how to handle television appearances. To cap it all, he has always had the courage to speak his mind, usually talks sense, and always presents his case lucidly and calmly.
Mon Dieu! What more could anyone want? And yet he can barely get himself elected, and his party remains a non-entity. Why?
On issues, many dismiss him as intellectually lightweight, and think his solutions to our problems simplistic if not naïve. Whether this be true or not, it certainly is irrelevant, as Nawaz Sharif demonstrated. I am not sure if he has thought deeply about all the practical consequences for us of the anti-west, anti-US, and anti-IMF thinking he espouses, but so what? He will discover the hard realities quickly enough, and learn to live with them, should he ever make it to the top. Till then, why should he not seek to profit politically from views that are in consonance with the current mood of our people?
More disappointing for me are his views (the usual dead-end ones) on that albatross around our neck, our Kashmir/India policy. Then there is his religious streak, which has the potential to get the better of his rational instincts on some gender and personal freedom issues. And, while I agree with him that we need to tackle the desolation of our educational sector on a national emergency basis, I flatly disagree with those of his ideas which, in the name of a single system for all, would end up destroying the few centres of excellence we have left. As for his big issue — corruption — see below.
But there is no realistic chance of Imran making it to the top on his own steam. Not in Pakistan and not in a parliamentary system. Some of his attributes, praiseworthy though they maybe at an individual level, are serious drawbacks at a public level. Politics is the art of give and take, of compromise, and of consensus and coalition building. Contrary to what they would like you to believe (and our gullible public yearns for), most politicians are not motivated by a selfless desire to serve, but largely by personal ambition. Imran is stubborn to a fault when it comes to dealing with such realities. The ‘you scratch my back and I scratch yours’ philosophy, so basic to politics, does not figure in his lexicon. Instead of making allies he makes powerful enemies easily, and couldn’t care less. Self-belief, exemplary conduct, and a stern insistence that others in the team meet his own high standards are great qualities in a cricket captain. But a politician has to humour, coax, cajole, and even flatter and deceive, to build and maintain support for his leadership.
It is true that on rare occasions a Churchill or a Bhutto successfully manages to flout such ancient and tested wisdom. But that usually happens only when the nation is desperate for a saviour in times of crisis. Before the last election, Imran was confident he and his party would win unprecedented success on just such a ‘crisis’ issue: corruption. He discovered the flaw in his reasoning the hard way. It is not high-level corruption that concerns the average voter. His real concern is lower-level corruption and abuse of power, which make his daily life a misery. And he can only beat the system or cope with it through access to the local politico.
With his party dead and buried for all practical purposes, and the hope that a paternal Establishment would somehow look upon him as a favoured son dashed upon the rocks of the army’s own political ambitions, where does that leave Imran? In limbo, I am afraid. But I hope he does not get disillusioned with the political scene as a result. I doubt he will join another party. I hope he does not. I hope he remains his independent self, for he should be able to win re-election. Men like him, as long as they have a public platform, often serve the nation better out of power. And we desperately need every courageous, articulate, sane voice we can get in our legislatures to speak with a clear conscience on a range of public issues.
Munir Attaullah is a businessman