The writer is generous in his praise of Imran Khan saying that his “un-corruptibility" has been long established
ISLAMABAD: This refers to Fasi Zaka’s article “Supporting Imran Khan” of June 15. The article is a strange mix of contradictions. On the one hand, the writer concedes that Imran Khan is incorruptible, but finds little relevance for this unique quality in the role of being a national leader. Mr Zaka says that Imran “has managed to give to the poorest of the poor where the state has failed, and with a level of integrity that is unmatched” and “he deserves to be in the list of the pantheons of our living saints”, yet he considers these qualities meaningless when it comes to ruling the country. The writer is generous in his praise of Imran Khan saying that his “un-corruptibility and independence has been long established, amongst other instances, through the WikiLeaks saga”, and “many Pakistanis clamour for an independent Pakistan free of corruption”, yet is unwilling to concede that Imran is the best choice to lead this country out of the quagmire that a sequence of corrupt leaders have pushed it into.
Imran is blamed for not having raised a voice against “the oppressive treatment of minorities, increasing radicalisation of society, demonstrate strength against the Taliban, take on the top brass of the military who have compromised this nation and the institution itself”. I am afraid this statement is more a projection of the writer’s perception and has little relevance to facts. Imran is the only political leader who has gone beyond the pale of polemics and has offered concrete solutions to the problems that Pakistan faces today. He has openly espoused the cause of the minorities and has castigated the radicalisation of society. He has offered solutions — solutions that are being embraced by the US and its allies now. They are all sitting across the table and talking to the Taliban. There are more people who believe in the cause of the Taliban today than there were two decades ago. Bombing out people has never brought any solutions. They would come through trying to understand the way others think and making adjustments for peaceful co-existence. That is what Imran stands for.
If Pakistan is ever to come to peace with itself, it will have to disengage itself from the so-celled US-led ‘war on terror’ which, over time, has become a ‘war of terror’. Imran took this stand way back in 2004 when others only laughed at him. Today, the whole world espouses that cause and is busy trying to extricate itself out of this unending conflict that has brought immense misery and pain for a vast number of people in this part of the world. Maybe, Mr Zaka should make an effort to see things as they actually are rather than as he would like to see them.
Raoof Hasan
Media adviser to Chairman
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2011.
