Ghazi Salahuddin: First person singular
When it is all over, as it must, what will remain of the Azadi and the Revolution marches? Will we have a naya Pakistan, baptised by a social revolution? What trophy will Imran Khan hold in his hands and speak, as he is wont to, in first person singular?
Alas, this national crisis is not a game of cricket. But the captain seems still possessed by that memorable moment of glory in 1992. Standing on the roof of his container parked on Constitution Avenue in Islamabad, he has repeatedly interpreted politics in the idiom of the game he had excelled in. He has waited for the umpire to raise his finger. Can this happen before this column is published on Sunday morning?
We know that the battle for Pakistan was not won on the playing fields of Aitchison College. In fact, Aitchison could be the Waterloo of the Pakistani elite if the promise of a naya Pakistan is realised. The torch does need to be passed on to a new breed of leaders who rise from the wretched of the earth.
Waiting for a new Pakistan, we must contend at this time with a terrifying crisis. What was launched on August 14 is nearing its climax. We are living through what they call the chase sequence, breathless with anticipation and yearning for an outcome that would not break our hearts. In this respect, the nation is surely polarised. And the main point of reference in this respect is not Nawaz Sharif but Imran Khan.
He is the star of this thriller. He has put himself on the line in this deadly campaign. The very idea of removing a serving prime minister through a march and a dharna would seem preposterous without covert backing of the establishment, even with the supporting cast of a firebrand clerics devout followers.
At one level, the two marches and the storm that they have raised are a distraction from the more fundamental problems of Pakistan. One measure of these problems is the ongoing operation in North Waziristan, with its collateral damage in the form of internally displaced persons who are so much more in number than the marchers. Essentially, Pakistan has to decide its national sense of direction because it cannot forever wander between the two worlds of radical Islam and a modern democracy.
One reason why we have this overpowering distraction is the role that the television news channels have played in exciting popular emotions in such a crude manner. A hysterical situation is built up and the nation is held hostage, with so many people becoming addicts of politics. One has only to imagine what it would be like if the news channels had not devoted so much time to the live coverage of, say, the wild tirades of Dr Tahirul Qadri and the foul-mouthed outbursts of Imran Khan.
In this process, so much of importance that has happened this week has been ignored. For example, three women teachers and two children were killed in a bomb attack on a van of a girls school in Bajaur on Tuesday. On the same day, three more policemen were shot dead in Karachi, raising the total of policemen killed in Karachi this year to 112. Also on Tuesday, a one-year child was confirmed as the 10th victim of the polio virus this year in Karachi. Sectarian violence continued and India broke off key talks with Pakistan. Besides, there is the wide world outside with its flaming headlines, particularly the beheading of James Foley by ISIS and the challenge it poses for the United States.
Even the talk shows have not been very perceptive about the issues that are involved in this confrontation. The focus has remained on personalities. Imran Khans target is Nawaz Sharif and he, in spite of his constituency in the educated middle-class, does not hesitate to hit below the belt.
As the star of the spectacle staged on Constitution Avenue, Imran Khan has provided ample material to psychiatrists and social scientists to study his mind and his style of leadership. The reason one should worry about it is that Imran seems destined to play an important role in Pakistans politics. He has had charisma, an essential attribute for a leader in a country of low political culture.
So, how has Imran fared in this, in a sense, trial by fire? Irrespective of how this high-intensity confrontation concludes, Imran has shown tendencies that are scary. For the sake of brevity, let us just look at what he himself billed as the most important speech of his life. He delivered it on Monday. It seemed to be the high point of his campaign, though such moments were later duplicated.
In that speech, he confessed to having given deep thought to what his next move would be. He told us that he was thinking for long hours, lying in his container. While it was good to learn that he has the capacity for such deep introspection, the bell that finally rang in his mind was manifestly out of tune with his partys struggle for justice and rule of law. He decided to go for civil disobedience.
What is striking here is that there was no hint about any consultation with other leaders of his party. He acknowledged that the idea had hit him instantly and there he was sharing it with his followers. Hence, not only that he did not discuss it with his party, it was also something that had not been on the table at all.
One can understand why an editorial in an English daily on Thursday said: For a country that has seen much political turmoil over its seven decades of existence, it would not be out of place to suggest that never before has Pakistan seen a political party and its leader demonstrate such whimsicalness on the national stage as it has with the PTI in recent days.
As someone remarked in social media, Imran Khan is all about me, me, and me. He may not have seen the poster which said that there is no I in team. It may, perhaps, be possible to justify such a streak of authoritarianism in a strong leader in a crisis situation. But we have seen such leaders to come to a bad end.
In any case, the chapter on Imran Khan is yet unfinished. He is obviously striving to repeat his World Cup performance. This would lead him to the victory stand. He will be the conquering hero. But there are intimations here also of a Greek tragedy in which the protagonist finally destroys himself.
www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-268884-First-person-singular
When it is all over, as it must, what will remain of the Azadi and the Revolution marches? Will we have a naya Pakistan, baptised by a social revolution? What trophy will Imran Khan hold in his hands and speak, as he is wont to, in first person singular?
Alas, this national crisis is not a game of cricket. But the captain seems still possessed by that memorable moment of glory in 1992. Standing on the roof of his container parked on Constitution Avenue in Islamabad, he has repeatedly interpreted politics in the idiom of the game he had excelled in. He has waited for the umpire to raise his finger. Can this happen before this column is published on Sunday morning?
We know that the battle for Pakistan was not won on the playing fields of Aitchison College. In fact, Aitchison could be the Waterloo of the Pakistani elite if the promise of a naya Pakistan is realised. The torch does need to be passed on to a new breed of leaders who rise from the wretched of the earth.
Waiting for a new Pakistan, we must contend at this time with a terrifying crisis. What was launched on August 14 is nearing its climax. We are living through what they call the chase sequence, breathless with anticipation and yearning for an outcome that would not break our hearts. In this respect, the nation is surely polarised. And the main point of reference in this respect is not Nawaz Sharif but Imran Khan.
He is the star of this thriller. He has put himself on the line in this deadly campaign. The very idea of removing a serving prime minister through a march and a dharna would seem preposterous without covert backing of the establishment, even with the supporting cast of a firebrand clerics devout followers.
At one level, the two marches and the storm that they have raised are a distraction from the more fundamental problems of Pakistan. One measure of these problems is the ongoing operation in North Waziristan, with its collateral damage in the form of internally displaced persons who are so much more in number than the marchers. Essentially, Pakistan has to decide its national sense of direction because it cannot forever wander between the two worlds of radical Islam and a modern democracy.
One reason why we have this overpowering distraction is the role that the television news channels have played in exciting popular emotions in such a crude manner. A hysterical situation is built up and the nation is held hostage, with so many people becoming addicts of politics. One has only to imagine what it would be like if the news channels had not devoted so much time to the live coverage of, say, the wild tirades of Dr Tahirul Qadri and the foul-mouthed outbursts of Imran Khan.
In this process, so much of importance that has happened this week has been ignored. For example, three women teachers and two children were killed in a bomb attack on a van of a girls school in Bajaur on Tuesday. On the same day, three more policemen were shot dead in Karachi, raising the total of policemen killed in Karachi this year to 112. Also on Tuesday, a one-year child was confirmed as the 10th victim of the polio virus this year in Karachi. Sectarian violence continued and India broke off key talks with Pakistan. Besides, there is the wide world outside with its flaming headlines, particularly the beheading of James Foley by ISIS and the challenge it poses for the United States.
Even the talk shows have not been very perceptive about the issues that are involved in this confrontation. The focus has remained on personalities. Imran Khans target is Nawaz Sharif and he, in spite of his constituency in the educated middle-class, does not hesitate to hit below the belt.
As the star of the spectacle staged on Constitution Avenue, Imran Khan has provided ample material to psychiatrists and social scientists to study his mind and his style of leadership. The reason one should worry about it is that Imran seems destined to play an important role in Pakistans politics. He has had charisma, an essential attribute for a leader in a country of low political culture.
So, how has Imran fared in this, in a sense, trial by fire? Irrespective of how this high-intensity confrontation concludes, Imran has shown tendencies that are scary. For the sake of brevity, let us just look at what he himself billed as the most important speech of his life. He delivered it on Monday. It seemed to be the high point of his campaign, though such moments were later duplicated.
In that speech, he confessed to having given deep thought to what his next move would be. He told us that he was thinking for long hours, lying in his container. While it was good to learn that he has the capacity for such deep introspection, the bell that finally rang in his mind was manifestly out of tune with his partys struggle for justice and rule of law. He decided to go for civil disobedience.
What is striking here is that there was no hint about any consultation with other leaders of his party. He acknowledged that the idea had hit him instantly and there he was sharing it with his followers. Hence, not only that he did not discuss it with his party, it was also something that had not been on the table at all.
One can understand why an editorial in an English daily on Thursday said: For a country that has seen much political turmoil over its seven decades of existence, it would not be out of place to suggest that never before has Pakistan seen a political party and its leader demonstrate such whimsicalness on the national stage as it has with the PTI in recent days.
As someone remarked in social media, Imran Khan is all about me, me, and me. He may not have seen the poster which said that there is no I in team. It may, perhaps, be possible to justify such a streak of authoritarianism in a strong leader in a crisis situation. But we have seen such leaders to come to a bad end.
In any case, the chapter on Imran Khan is yet unfinished. He is obviously striving to repeat his World Cup performance. This would lead him to the victory stand. He will be the conquering hero. But there are intimations here also of a Greek tragedy in which the protagonist finally destroys himself.
www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-268884-First-person-singular
