Imran Khan: Pakistan’s Next PM?

Okay, so he was a playboy and fooled with loads of women around the world. He may have "reproduced" here and there (Imran strongly denies this allegation) and he churns out nonsense to fellow Pakistanis about being
brown sahibs and not endorsing their own Pakistani culture but only embracing western ideals.

The lion of Pakistan, the sher of the Pathans, the greatest all rounder Pakistan has ever produced, has in the last few years turned his ambitions from cricket and charity to the great Pakistani male past time...politics. This article will attempt to briefly look at some of the reasons critics/Pakistanis have raised their arms as to why the Khan should not be AND CANNOT BE the captain of politics in the land of pure.

Hypocrisy: Calling himself a born again Muslim, many in Pakistan cannot believe this change and feel it borders either on a schizo complex or a ploy to adhere to the more religious amongst us. Feminists have argued and raised doubts that the Khan has led a double life in the past with his playboy image and pot smoking, that have filled the pages of tabloids across the world. Other radicals amongst us will point to the fact that this born again Muslim and champion of "ethesab" and "insaaf" has married not only a Jewish woman but a rich one at that. Accusations of gold digging and marrying a Jew/kafir plagued Pakistani papers in the last election courtesy of Nawaz and his media spinner Mushahid. Their spinning combination helped bowl Immy on debut.


Political Experience: Fine. Excellent credentials in academia. With a major in Political Science and Economics from Oxford, the Khan has the education and hence the academic pre-requisite to rule the country. Other national leaders like Farooq Leghari, Wasim Sajjad and ZAB, also graced some these hallowed institutions. But what did they all achieve? Benazir herself, a well educated woman did nothing to improve the destiny and lives of her people and neither did the other mentioned Cambridge-Oxford grads. On the other hand, other leaders with the feudal approach, have shown an excellent education is not what is required to make it to the top in Pakistan. It is just the power you are born with. What all this leads down to is that Immy, (according to his critics) just does not have what it takes to be a political leader. He is inexperienced with the rules of the game, he does not have the feudal connection and most of all he is too idealistic and arrogant to survive on the dangerous pitch of Pakistani politics.


Just a cricketer: Winning the world cup and defeating India in India in a cricket test series and building a hospital for cancer patients are no achievements that should deserve the right to rule your country. He is just a cricket hero, his critics say, who in a country with a lack of heroes and surplus of sycophants has moulded a man who once denied that he would ever into politics into a contender for the crown. Who does he think he is - this brash, arrogant, hypocritical ex-womanizing gold digger? A little fame can blow up any one's ego.


Now for the flip side.

The rebuttal.


In terms of being a hypocrite - who in Pakistan isn't? Especially in politics. Every politician in every nation of this world has portrayed double standards and changed their ideals on a number of occasions. On the other hand, let's say we even give Immy the benefit of the doubt. Every one is entitled to a second chance. (Though for the record, Nawaz Sharif is on his third). Let us say the Khan is a born again Muslim and his wife Haiqa (Jemima) is a true believer. Kudos for Imran. Bringing one of them to our side. But the question remains then - does it really matter if he was a playboy and a womanizer and how would these traits affect him becoming a successful leader of Pakistan? One of the greatest maxims that has arisen in modern politics in the 90's is "it's the economy stupid." Clinton may be a pathological liar, but Americans are not complaining. The economy is booming, the poor are getting jobs, more students are getting educated and on the whole people's lives have improved. People have said that to be a leader one has to upright and good and Jinnah like. Well the Quaid was a great leader but for most of his life he was a dedicated bachelor living up the good life in Hampstead, London and Bombay. What it comes down to is that personal life should not be an issue. In the old days, you never had the modern media. Otherwise, Jinnah would have remembered for being a cradle snatcher, Nehru for having a torrid Lewinsky style affair with Edwina Mountbatten and Gandhi for experimenting sexually with his niece. In essence if you can get the job done without being corrupt and if you can improve the lives of millions than in the final analysis that is what counts.

Political Experience. In reality and with each passing day Imran Khan is learning the rules of the game. The dilemma in Pakistan has always been whether to enter the system within and change it or to challenge it directly. The Khan lost the last elections because he directly challenged the political system. On a platform of revolution, accountability and justice he scared the pants out of the PPP, Muslim League, and the military establishment. Accountability and justice under Imran would have put a lot of people behind bars. It was hence essential that Imran and the the Therik-e-Insaaf not win a single seat anywhere. Just imagine now. If Imran and his party had even one seat they would have a voice. And that's a voice too many. It would give the potential mandate for a future party and a future political force. The only logical deduction is election fraud. The fact that Imran Khan hero of a whole country lost in his own home constituents, where he is loved like a God is a little suspicious. Also remembering the month of Ramadan, only 18% of the population turned up to vote. Calculated and planned, elections in Pakistan always are, by the people who have money, who then plan to retrieve most of the campaign cost after they become members of parliament.

Not just a cricketer. The two hardest jobs in Pakistan is being the leader of the country and the captain of the Pakistan cricket team. Expectations from the public are just too high. Actually let me refresh that statement. Being the captain of Pakistan is the hardest job. Just ask Wasim Akram, his house has been attacked and his father has been kidnapped. Cricket, so integral a sport to the Pakistani identity and masses is considered more a religion in relation to politics. Imran chose the best cricketers for the right games and ran the team in a firm efficient manner. Governance is many ways is similar. Choosing the right people for the job and making sure no one flounders in their respective positions. Politics is a convoluted realm but being the captain of Pakistan involves politics in itself.


Still, while this is an interesting analogy, reality needs to set in. Imran Khan has a lot to learn and a long way to go. He is searching for the right people, (like he did in cricket). He may not be the best person out there to lead the country, but he has the recognition and to some extent a hero's respect and adulation amongst his people. Out of every potential candidate out there, he seems to the lesser of the evils. When he had announced that he was setting up a political party, I like many others thought it was a big mistake. Stick to social welfare and charity, I thought. Politics is no place for him. He is a fool mesmerized by the ass lickers around him. I then had the good fortune of hearing him speak one day thinking it would be a joke. But I was impressed. He spoke articulately, but most of all he showed that he really cared about the people of this country and that he was willing to put everything in to it, to make Pakistan a better place to live. But like many of Pakistan's generations, we have been deceived by the promises of demagogue. We all supported ZAB and his socialist "kapra, roti, makan" and Benazir with her prodigal promises. Imran seems to be the real deal. He could be the last hope to bring Pakistan out of its social and economical problems. He just needs the right players to do it.