Imran Khan reminds me of the sons of textile tycoons who go to America for studies and come back empty-handed.
CARTERET, NJ, US: This is with reference to Rasul Baksh Rais’s article of July 14 titled, “Kaptaan, the country’s most popular leader”.
Imran Khan reminds me of the sons of textile tycoons who go to America for studies and come back empty-handed, either with a basic undergraduate degree and sometimes not even that. They do, however, return with a good English language accent. Their parents help them set up industries to run and most of them fail. And when these companies default, they always blame everything/one else but themselves.
Imran Khan says he will end corruption in 100 days if he comes to power. Most of the corruption in Pakistan, contrary to popular perception, exists at the lower levels. About half of the students in Pakistani colleges cheat. Once they graduate many go on to become (mostly corrupt) junior government officers. Almost all policemen in Pakistan take bribes. So do most Pakistani tax and customs officials. So do the people in the army responsible for procurement. Look at the prices Pakistan paid for F-16s and French military equipment, and look at the prices Taiwan paid for similar planes and equipment.
Many of the Frontier Corps junior officers managing our checkposts allow drug smugglers to pass from Afghanistan to Pakistan, and of course this is done in exchange for money. Our Supreme Court is excellent and perhaps the one good thing we have left. But the lower courts are in a shambles and people have to wait for years for their cases to reach an end. Our city and municipal services officials responsible for things like road building, drainage and water works are generally corrupt, as are those who serve in Wapda and Pakistan Railways. The list can go and on but I hope readers get what I am saying.
Where would Imran Khan get not only qualified people to replace these corrupt people, but also people who are honest? They simply don’t exist.
Imran is loved by our urban youth, mostly young men with limited knowledge, who want power. They think they can run the country with someone like him at its helm but they have no experience of such things. Right now, Imran Khan has no economic team and does not have a sizeable number of honest and seasoned politicians with him, despite being in politics for over a decade.
A Ahmed
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2011.
