I will, gladly and btw excellent use of red. Please read very patiently.
I will certainly read patiently. But I have to set the record straight in the very beginning here as I believe that you didn't read my post carefully enough. Your takeaway from my post that I consider IK as a messiah couldn't be further from the truth.
In fact I think that apart from being a cricket captain who achieved so much on the field, building a cancer hospital (a celebrity status as a cricketing hero had a lot to do with it) and being honest and sincere he has not much to show for himself. I rate him very low as a political leader and certainly
NOT a messiah or a revolutionary of
ANY kind.
Now, having got that out of the way and setting the context I will try to provide my opinion and hope that this time you will read it patiently and with a little more attention :-)
Just because I don't subscribe to Islam, doesn't mean that I can't raise voice against hypocrisy. Islam doesn't have an exclusivity on morality, ethics or hypocrisy.
Let me make my point: Morality of fathering a love-child is subjective to what culture the person belongs to. In some is it a matter and in others it is not. I have no problem personally with someone fathering a love-child. My problem is with hypocrisy. IK today takes 'taikaidari' of Islam. He can't stop talking about how his politics is inspired by it. He has elaborate photoshoots of praying Namaz. This is him now. We all know why he advertises Islam - it is for votes from an ultra-conservative populous. But this can't take away from the fact that he was 'putting it in' Sita at the age of 40. Try to understand what I'm saying here about owning up to ones actions.
I understand what you are saying and agree with some of it but I am ambivalent on this issue.
I still think that in this cesspool that is Pakistani politics this is worth fretting too much about.
We are talking about Pakistani politics and its based on hypocrisy. There are news that Sharifs have fathered love child (for sheer entertainment value I will refer you to Waseem Akhtar of MQM to learn about Sharifs' sexual exploits ;). Then you see Sharif in the holy land taking extra long time to try to wash away whatever....or maybe take some advice from the octogenarian on how to maintain your sexual prowess even at his age. Who knows. But, does it really matter in the larger context of messy Pakistani politics? I don't think so. I am just surprised that you are so passionate about it - thats all.
Another example: Junaid Jamshed all of a sudden thought of selling Naat CDs when he was past the age of pop-star's prime. And yet he sells clothing articles of 'Shahwat' for women in his boutiques. Again, try to understand what my gripe is. It is not about one's right to manufacture phallus shaped strap-ons or the morality of doing so - it is about the hypocrisy of taking 'taikaidari' of Islam and doing the things it says are immoral.
I only like his naats and thats all. I never liked his condescending and holier than thou attitude.
Yaar this world is going through this phenomenon of born again 'whatever' and people just love that story. It appeal more to people. There is a reason that Maulana Tariq Jameel has a cell working on cultivating celebrities ;-)
I just leave it up to them and their God. I just hate it when they try to encroach my space. But I have a choice to control and I choose to do that based on what I feel or think.
I know everyone does these things in a compromised society like Pakistan. But IK or JJ do this while standing at the highest moral pedestal of Islam. This hypocrisy is what is bothering me. I think you would very well see the fault in a prostitute who wants to be an Imam of a Masjid. In my opinion, a person is free to do both actions, but when the same person wants to do both the same things, it is very cringe-worthy.
Just so you know I don't like anyone wearing their religion on their sleeves. Whether its IK or Obama or Blair or Modi. I think that a leader should try his utmost to be private in this respect. But again, we are living in a world which loves this or some part of it does and these public figures try to court that segment of the society. I think that they are just being opportunists.
I still think that its a little different between JJ and IK. IK has said that he was not even an average muslim until his mother died or close to dying. Yet I think that as long as he sticks to others' financial corruption and not bringing up their personal and corrupt morals in the picture as some others do in Pakistan then he is okay.
Lastly, if you think that you and I don't have the right to judge the private life of a person who puts himself up for election to a public office - then you are gravely mistaken. I have every right to judge IK's private life and opinions but not yours. This is not my rule, rather something the whole world follows. I can give examples if you ask.
Again, you got me wrong. A public figure's (especially someone who puts his hand up for a public office) actions in private life are fair game. You and others have every right to bring them up but I am just surprised at you, of all the people, being so passionate about it :-)
Politics is a dirty game and IK should be prepared to answer questions if he has chosen this field and put himself up for scrutiny.
Transfer documents have been made public and IK has never denied them. In them, Jemima has said under oath that it was IK's property all along but purchased in her name as a 'baynami transaction'. I know that IK doesn't need to be corrupt. But to think that he doesn't need to be corrupt and so he isn't is like saying that IK doesn't need to father a love-child and he hasn't (when you know the truth that he has). Baynami transaction is solely and solely used in Pakistan & India to avoid taxes, hide assets or whiten black money. I am not claiming that IK's motives were all or one of these, frankly I don't know. What I am bothered about is that everyone in Pakistan knows what 'baynami' is used for and then why would he get involved with it? And do date, there is no official written explanation from IK - just fleeting illogics like yours in TV interviews like 'I don't need to be corrupt because god has given me a lot'. Again, try to understand what my problem is.
I am not trying to defend him. I am just trying to find a motive for the crime. Of course you and I don't know all the facts. What I am saying is that what is the motivation.
My contention is that IK's opponents are doing what he does and that is to throw allegations without solid proofs. Its not clear either way but creates enough doubts.
I consider myself pretty aware of things. I have been out of Pakistan for a while and have not bought a lot of property. I am sure that if I am trying to buy property
I would contact people in Pakistan if I need to do a land transaction and if they write it down as a baynami transaction then I may not exactly know what does that mean. I may even sign it (my wife has serious problem with me not reading 100 page document before I sign it ;).
Again, I would be all for putting IK in jail or punished or fined for lying or breaching whatever law or regulation if its proven that a crime was committed. I just think that its a non-issue given the mitigating factors. I would have cared more if they found out that he owns land in his sister's name or his sons' name or has shares in a sugar mill or has flats in Dubai or London. A baynami transaction for your primary residence doesn't make sense and not much of a case for me.
Lastly on this, tax returns of elected public office holders is a public document as well. IK has held public office since 2002 and he is legally obliged to declare his and spouses' properties in that return. Which he hasn't. Just like the rest of the corrupt scum. To this date, no Pootian, IK or anyone else representing them has every given an answer as to why. And I bet my life on this that you will avoid and divert this killer question, shamelessly.
Then he should be taken to task for it. Simple as that. I am with you in questioning and demanding that!
Aik_Sawal said:
would attribute their failure to implement the local body system to their sheer incompetence, unorganized party and inexperience rather than political corruption. This inability to
deliver local body system on time as they claimed with come back to haunt them and more than that it shows how bad the situation is in Pakistan irrespective of province and political party in power.
Ridiculous excuse -
How does my observation(in red) pointing out PTI's leadership's incompetence and lack of organization turns out to be a excuse? :)
and you can give countless here, you have every right to. Please understand my point: In Pakistan, no party leader wants to dilute his power by giving it to local bodies. IK claims to be politically pure but he has acted in typical manner as the other scum. I don't care for whatever reasons he hasn't been able to - as long as the outcome is the same as the other scum politicians. Please understand that I am not evaluating causes of why it hasn't been done - but rather why a pure politician like IK who claimed he would do them, has not.
Again, you got it all wrong. I am not a PTI supporter. I am not trying to defend them. I am just trying to understand how a smart person like you is not an equal opportunity critic of all Pakistani politicians and political parties. Thats all. I personally think that given their claims before the elections PTI has failed in KPK by the standards set by themselves.
I personally think that IK is not the right guy to take us out of this morass that we find ourselves in. I just want these family limited companies' cycle to power corridors be broken. Thats all I want. It could be PTI or DTI or ZTI - I don't care if its IK or DK or ZK who breaks that cycle. I don't have much more hope. I strongly believe that we need to get the democracy moving along with a few election cycles. At the same time I also want these political mafias that have latched onto our system like leeches to go away.
So then you can ask what is my take away from all of this? It is as follows:
I fully support IK's right to do what he is doing. At the most he is inconveniencing people in Islamabad, but he has every right to do what he is doing. Sure, it is looking very stupid and embarrassing but still I will defend his right to do what he is doing.
I have many issues with his strategy and what he is doing but I fully support people's right to peaceful protest.
He has every right to make dirty alliances with SMQ, Hashmi, Tareen, Sheikh Rashid. I won't even question why he has taken u-turns because in life you keep changing positions.
Pakistani politics by its inherent nature is dirty. It may take a while for the system to flush itself out. If he takes u-turns and changes his positions then he will have to face the consequences.
I am also even in favour of his right to become Prime Minister, but any means necessary, because Pakistan is a compromised system and here everyone has had a legal / illegal go at things like parachuting Shaukat Aziz, or Military Coups etc. so IK has every right to make his way by any means he thinks are necessary...
I strongly object to that premise. I think that NO ONE, IK or anyone else has any right to take the short cut. He has no right to be catapulted to that position using a short circuit.
...but my problem is with the educated people like you thinking of him as the Messiah. (I can't care about the unfortunate non-lettered masses as they are stuck in a different rut) but it boils my blood when I see lucky educated people like you calling him the cleanest man in the universe when he is like everyone else in his track record. Again, please understand what my point of contention is. I am in favour of IK getting a go at the helm of power. What I am against is educated people calling him a Messiah knowing fully well his personal, financial, social and political compromises.
This is where you go completely off track. And, I have not been able to put my finger on why you do that :-)
I have addressed this before but I will list it again in no uncertain terms. IK IS NO MESSIAH. IN MY BOOKS HE IS NOT EVEN A GOOD POLITICAL LEADER. He is also not an intellectual heavyweight that he is made out to be by his supporters.
I see beyond personalities and IK certainly don't mean much to me as he does to some of his core supporters. I have said it so many times here before and I don't expect you to have read what I wrote so I am trying to reiterate here. Personality worship will not get us anywhere.
All we know is that given what we know he is not financially corrupt and also not have inferiority or personality complexes that most of our leaders suffer from.He has a lot of issues and weaknesses. As I feared and what was proven in KPK is that he doesn't have magic wand to fix serious issues that we face and he doesn't have the team or capacity to fix those problems quickly. As I said before all I see in PTI is a way to break the cycle of corrupt mafias taking turns.
I already have formed the conclusion that in a country where Jinnah (until he died) and the Liaqat then for four years could not form a constitution, where Ayub's "greatness" ended up in half the country being lost, where Bhutto met a sad end, Zia took us decades back just in one, Oxford + Harvad grad BB had to rely on corruption to survive, Oxford grad Mir Murtaza turns into a plane hi-jacker, 3-time luckiest ba$t@rd Nawaz can't manage a turn-around recovery, Musharraf left the country in a ditch a ran away - IMRAN KHAN IS JUST TOO SMALL A PAWN IN THIS GAME.
Are you heading to Islamabad to lead a revolution? ;)
Sometime the solution to huge and complex problems are very simple. Kidding aside it doesn't have to be a revolution to fix the problems that we face.
Pakistan's problem is not 'why IK is not in power' - not matter how much brain-ache educated people like you get over it. It is a problem of our foundations, our denial from reality as a nation, and our split-personality-misplaced-aims of dominating India and then the rest of the world for no reason whatsoever. What else would befall the people who are stuck in the ironic, dissonant situation where a man who founded the biggest 'thaikaidar' jamat in the name of Islam was against carving a smaller mess in the name of Islam.
You are as confused as the masses on the streets of Islamabad :)
You are obsessed with IK and PTI. You try to be pragmatist yet you want idealistic solutions. You tend to generalize and stereotype and use your above average intellect to look down upon people as they are not good enough for you :) These are complex problems and I believe that it will take some simple solutions but it will take time.
I say again, that the problems you listed above are real and IK or anyone else on the political arena have solutions to these problems.
IK didn't create these issues and he is a product of this mess as you and I are. Sometime we don't realize it but you and I suffer from the same maladies as we are a product of that very system. We, as a society, have to come up with the solution to the issues you pointed out. What will fix those issues is social reformation which is beyond any political leader.
All we need now is some political and financial stability so that people can live a little better.
Hardly anyone is willing to talk about it openly here. Handful do exist in Pakistan but they chose not to voice their opinion on this crisis. This is the problem. Why is IK in power or not is merely a soap opera-esque distraction.
You say that its a mess and point out the players who are responsible yet you want to see a different drama played out on the streets. Garbage in garbage out my friend.
Not sure what your expectations are.
