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Posted on 02 November 2011 |
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| OPINION |
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PAKISTAN POLITICS |
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The moment that makes a man
Kiran Nazish on the unexpected success of cricketer-turned-politician imran khan’s newest political show, and the responsibility it places on khan to come up with meaningful policies
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Imran khan |
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STANDING WHERE the Lahore resolution was passed in 1940, Imran Khan started off with the name of Allah Subhan aTa’la and proceeded with Iqbal, declaring his ‘ideological leader’ and dramatically shifting the alliance of many rival party supporters who were there to make fun of the Tehreek-e-Insaf and capture Imran’s disappointed face on their cameras. Captivating scores of hearts and hopes, Imran made strides into his speech, mostly criticising the leadership in power (PML-N and PPP), with statistical reason and not rhetoric. It wasn’t just a dozen youth who seemed to have converted their political religion on that ground; there were thousands who stopped bashing and hooting and quietly listened to Imran. At one point there was no other sound to be heard, except applause. That’s quite an unusual experience in such a gathering with Pakistani youth, who are usually trivialising of the other person’s religion and ideology. Top analysts and the media who were running slapstick comedy on television a day earlier to mock Imran, were astounded to watch more than two lakh people at Minto Park roar every time Khan lashed out at the monarchial leaderships. While many commentators remained tongue-tied and egotistical, others changed their stance and refined their conversation. @mosharrafzaidi tweeted ‘Folks trying to downplay Lahore, give it a rest. Heartwarming to see so many Pakistanis turning to politics peacefully and in celebration.’ Making his way into people’s hearts, Imran won the day. He deferentially highlighted (rival PPP’s founder) Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s leadership skills and his anti-imperialist ideology, dismissing (current PPP chief) Asif Ali Zardari’s presidency and his potential to lead, in contrast with PPP’s founding notion of service to the public. Soon they chanted, ‘Go Zardari go!’ Concerns about Tehreek’s hollow party infrastructure, no second-tier leadership and unpopular party policies ostensibly receded within the crowd, as Imran discussed more vital issues. Elaborating on the natural and labour resources of Pakistan, he said the economy can work without loans and a corrupt infrastructure. Something different about Imran was that he did not just factually point out where the current government was faltering, he gave solutions that he deemed could eradicate poverty, minimise disparity, develop good governance, improve foreign relations, untie the strings attached to the IMF and discard submission to colonial and regional powers. Making stringent demands on accountability from the current leaders, Imran stimulated emotions against the presidency and the provincial government; and also spoke about civil disobedience, infusing Habib Jalib’s poetry into the public bosom. It is unrealistic to make ambitious promises and it is impractical to accommodate everybody’s wishes and demands. Imran did not do that.
BUT THERE was hype over the Kashmir boot that Imran wrongly took. By endeavouring that the Indian Army should vacate Kashmir, he irresponsibly stabbed the current Indo-Pak peace talks. As he attempted to lighten the tone by giving examples of America’s failure in Afghanistan, he certainly did not make optimistic reason to his suggestions defining boundaries for India. In the past, Imran has shown to be pro-dialogue with India and has been anti-military. It is true that foreign policy is a backseat concern for the people at the moment, but making adversaries before friends may strangle Imran’s progress to be. Towards the end, Lahore resonated in this overcrowded Jalsa chanting non-political slogans like ‘We want change! We want Change!’ out of the sheer despondency that they have been facing from the leaders they tied, tested, voted for and suffered. Imran is not short of fans, and many of them apparently flew in from abroad while 50 of them came from Peshawar on foot ‘to show support for change’. The question however remains whether Imran would be able to keep his promises to his surviving and ornamental following or will he be the ‘last nail’ many critics are forecasting him to be. As a blogger Huma Sattar puts is “I think so many people are supporting him right now because we are dying for change, we are dying for someone other than the Zardaris and the pseudo-Bhuttos and so-called Sharifs but Khan has yet to come up with a strong economic policy, an iron clad foreign policy. Or if nothing else, actually describe how he plans to bring about this ‘change’ he claims he will. Something substantial; not just words.” Surely Imran’s mystery cards have started to work for him with the public, but whether his radical, retaliatory gung-ho will work in practical terms perhaps can be determined via a pragmatic plan as the election nears. Meanwhile, we may expect to watch a prolonged drama of gasps, chokes and stutters by those who call Imran ‘Not our competition.’ In the end, Imran’s calculated handling of the masses worked. October 30, 2011, could be a historical juncture in Pakistan’s internal politics and Imran made heads turn and tilt. He steadily defined his rivals and his strategy; and sent his message across to each recipient. Held a tough stance on his opponents, distinguished his enemies and used these tools to instill hope among the masses. Outlandish and unexpected; he is somehow an aide memoire of Zulfiqar Bhutto.
Kiran Nazish is a journalist, activist and academic based in Pakistan.
kiran.nazish@gmail.com
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