Another friend who happened to be a key adviser to Musharraf in those days asked me to pass on a message to my host: run from some other constituency as his opponent, Tahirul Qadri
...Pak politician, and would-be dictator, founder and head of Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran and Pakistain Awami Tehrik. He usually resides in Canada, but returns to Pakistain periodically to foam at the mouth and lead demonstrations. Depending on which way the wind's blowing, Qadri claims to be the author of Pak's blasphemy law. Other times he says it wasn't him...
, was going to win. He wouldn't go into any reasons except to say it "had been decided". In the event, my friend was declared the winner in the unofficial first count; soon afterwards, the result was reversed, with Qadri emerging as the ultimate winner.
In the same elections, I heard of candidates being pressurised by spooks to switch sides, or sit the polls out. They were threatened with exposure of false tax returns and other shenanigans.
Ever since Khan's political star came into the ascendant, there have been rumours about covert backing from the army. According to Javed Hashmi, PTI's ex-president, a 'third force' was behind Imran Khan
... aka
Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree...
's destabilising drive. And certainly, Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
's government has been greatly weakened as a result of the PTI campaign, an outcome that could not have displeased the army's top brass.
Khan's grasp of international relations was displayed with his campaign to block NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
containers transiting through Pakistain to Afghanistan. These supplies were being moved under an agreement between Pakistain and NATO, and their blockage embarrassed the government. Unruly PTI goons roughed up drivers and damaged trucks.
The result? Since January, there have been 10 US drone strikes in Fata without a squeak from the fire-breathing Khan. In a further display of diplomatic finesse, the PTI dharna and general lawlessness in Islamabad blocked the visits of the presidents of China and Sri Lanka, both important friends of Pakistain.
And of course we have followed Imran Khan's defence of the Taliban with growing bemusement and dismay. He delayed military action against the holy warriors using North
Wazoo as a sanctuary. By cosying up to groups such as the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami...
The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka
The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an
independentbranch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
, he has aided and abetted growing radicalisation in Pakistain.
What we were unaware of is Khan's standing as an educationist. Here's an email I received recently: "As a teacher, I am alarmed by Imran Khan's announcement that once in power PTI will have one education system in the country by 'combining the syllabus of the madressahs, Urdu medium schools and English medium schools'. Teachers in Pakistain have to stop him before he completely destroys an already compromised education system...
"[With the money being spent on his sons' education in England] he can open a model school on his Bani Gala estate to experiment with his ideas before thrusting them down our throats."
Already completely isolated, Khan is showing signs of desperation as his exhausted, disillusioned followers return to their homes. While his campaign has shown that there is a huge appetite for reform among large sections of Pak society, people won't be taken for an unending ride by charlatans chanting slogans for change. This is especially true when the messiah chooses to surround himself with dubious political hacks who have profited from the very system he wants to overthrow.
| This is Pakistan, so of course they will. Over and over and over again. |
So while I support Khan's demand for electoral reform, there's not much else I can agree with him about.