Can Imran Khan finally win it again for Pakistan?

New Delhi, December 03: Cricketer and president of his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (movement for Justice), Imran Khan is positioning himself to lead the nation in the next general election. Drawing huge crowds across the country, the former cricketer has suddenly become the new champion of Pakistan’s youth and of those who want change.

After waiting for 16 long years on the sidelines and becoming the butt of many a joke, Imran Khan has an opinion on everything and the Pakistanis are lapping it up. He opposes dynastic rule, saying he will never allow his children to succeed him in politics. He lashes out at the Americans, saying they must get out of the region. He hits out at corruption, saying it is eating into the development and progress of Pakistan. And makes it clear that he will have no truck with the likes of Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari, or for that matter Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader Nawaz Sharif.

Khan is clear that he is not for confrontation, maintaining that “even Kashmir can be solved through negotiations.” Unconfirmed reports suggest that Pakistan’s strategic ‘expert’ Shaheen Mazari, who was amongst the first to join Imran Khan’s party has also been the first to leave, following differences over his non confrontationist position on India. He talks of a “new beginning” and a “clean break from the past”, maintaining that Pakistanis are tired of corruption and the abuse of power they have had to tolerate for decades. The bold new speeches from a charismatic former cricketer have finally struck a chord, and the people are turning out by the thousands.
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The streets are buzzing with the possibility of a new alternative. The elders are cautious, saying Khan does not have a strong organisation and that he needs to spread his wings into the rural areas before he can become a serious contender in the elections that are expected to be held in the second half of 2012. But the young people have no such qualms and feel that Imran Khan is the answer to Pakistan’s ails and their dreams.

Hardliner Maulana Fazl ur Rehman is not enthusiastic. He told this correspondent that he was not at all supportive of the “culture” that Imran Khan and his party were unleashing. He did not elaborate, but clearly the reference was to the equality of sexes in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and the fact that the young liberals with an international sense of dress are part of his support brigade. The Maulana was certain that Khan was being supported by the “Agencies” who were solidly behind his emergence as a recognisable leader.

This is a question that is being asked in Pakistan, although even Imran Khan’s detractors are of the view that he is currently on his own. “The Army is not interfering till now,” is the consensus. The Army, not particularly happy with the PPP top leadership and wary of Nawaz Sharif, might be encouraged to embrace Imran Khan if his campaign gathers further support.

And he is definitely on a roll, with his meeting in Lahore last month and more recently in Ghotki in southern Sindh drawing huge crowds. At the last meeting he was joined by former Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. As the crowd cheered, he declared, “Imran sahib, from today, Shah Mahmood is part of your team.” Qureshi devoted most of his speech attacking President Zardari and the PPP leadership.

Qureshi’s decision to join PTI has come as a major boost for Imran Khan as it opens the way for more such defections from the PPP where the former foreign minister has some support. The Army is not averse to his rise and as a former general said, it is “watching closely” to see whether Imran Khan and his party are able to overcome the challenges of setting up a strong organisation across the country, and keeping up the momentum.

Seema Mustafa
Courtesy: DNA