I have long been a supporter of our party leader, Mr Imran Khan. I was a staunch supporter of The Khan long before he became en vogue; long before the Che Guevara or Obama-esque T-shirts promising “change”; long before the rockstar endorsements or Twitterati trolls and patrols. I was a true believer when the tsunami was a mere trickle.
I supported — and continue to support — Mr Khan because I believe he is honest and I believe his heart is in the right place; because I believe he genuinely represents a positive change for Pakistan. The reason why I have supported Mr Khan and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is because I felt it was the one party where one could speak one’s mind openly — and where the party leaders were receptive to alternative inputs.
Having said that, I have, of late, found my faith somewhat shaken. I wonder about Mr Khan’s desire to build a Naya Pakistan — one in which he promises to “protect the life and property of all minorities”. I find myself questioning our leader’s resolve because of his various recent statements. Don’t mistake me — I support the PTI candidate in my constituency, Mr Shafqat Mahmood. But I must confess, I feel a bit let down by what I perceive as Mr Khan’s pandering to the right. However, what disturbs me even more is the fact that party supporters refuse to acknowledge that, perhaps, he made a mistake. Surely, the whole point of joining a political movement is to implement change and not just parrot what your “leader” is saying. It’s one’s moral and civic responsibility to call out our leaders when they err — whether they are from the PML-N, the PPP or, indeed, even the PTI.
Armchair liberals censure other parties for their associations with the right — yet, not a peep when it comes to Mr Khan or certain ridiculous statements of late (for instance, when he “requests” his Taliban brethren to stop bombing people but only during the elections; does that mean they can continue post-polls?). Surely, I can’t be the only PTI supporter who sees the farcical nature of such statements; isn’t it our duty, our farz, as moral, responsible citizens to question our leaders when we feel they have taken a dubious step? Surely, one can question and still support a party. Mr Khan is human and, as such, is not infallible. Contrary to what one reads on social media, he is not the messiah. Surely, it behoves us as his supporters to ensure he stays on the straight and narrow.
The irony is that I will still vote for the PTI — but not merely because it’s a change and is not the PML-N or the PPP. When it comes to manifestos, theirs aren’t too bad either. And, by the way, folks, being the lesser of evils is not a valid reason to vote someone into power in a country as fraught with problems as Pakistan. I’ll vote for the PTI because my candidate is the best of the lot and in the past, Mr Khan has stood up for the rights of minorities — even in some cases, at the cost of his own safety. Take how he was the only leader who actively spoke up against the Laskhar-e-Jhangvi for sectarian violence.
However, I’m scared because it seems that even if Mr Khan’s tsunami sweeps him into power, we might be destined to repeat the mistakes of the past by continuing to fiddle away idly while Pakistan burns. To ensure real sustainable change, we must maintain a healthy scepticism. I support Mr Khan because I still choose to believe in his moral centre and ability to maintain a stance in the face of all opposition. But when I feel he makes a mistake, I will speak up and try to make sure he doesn’t repeat the mistakes of past leaders just to get the kursi.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 10th, 2013.
COMMENTS (18)
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Go PTI....go....IK. Go....if you succeed...it will be that CHANGE that we envisaged....otherwise...it can not be worse than what it is TODAY....may Allah swt bless you and give you strength and good team to pull this country through.....
Skeptcism is the most sustainable form of support. As long as you question him, he will to quote you 'stay on the straight and narrow'. When we become indifferent, we effectively give up our right to hold the government accountable. I fought hard for Tehreek-e-Insaf. I campaigned, alternating between rhetoric and logic and survived some idealogical debates with seasoned cynics. I did so with conviction and faith in the party's ability to be different, better not perfect. Come tomorrow, I will be proud. I did my part. Then the elected representatives will have to begin fulfilling their obligations. The promise of a new world order is theirs to keep and mine to hold them to. If they fail, I will speak up and when they succeed, I will cheer them on. LETS GO PTI, LETS GO IMRAN KHAN, LETS GO PAKISTAN.
@Azad: Your observations regarding political & ideological consolidation across the country due to PTI platform are very valid (though rarely understood by others). I have observed it for a while interacting with hard-core supporters of PTI. I see people from the ultra-leftist side to the rightists. This gives a great opportunity for people on the both sides to build trust based relationship with each other and understand each other. This has long-term positive repercussions for the country and things will unfold with time. My prediction is that PTI phenomenon will pan out as one of the key stepping stones to national building over time.
what is with this poppycock that IK is the first person to name the lashkar e jhangvi and speak against them. its such nonsense its not even funny. president musharraf for 8 years spoke openly against the LeJ and SSP and banned them (in 2001, before 9/11 mind you) by using their names. He constantly spoke against their sectarian killings and has been targetted by them numerous times, often unreported to the press. time to start speaking the truth. further, even if we accept that imran has taken a stance against LeJ, where was this courage when the TTP tried to kill malala yousafzai and imran failed to condemn them aggressively? is that not condemnable.
Excellent............you have voiced what many are thinking. In a case like this the benefit of the doubt goes to Imran Khan.
Everyone has the right to speak. But not everyone has the right to be listened attentively. And still fewer people have the right to alter the decisions of a leader. That's why he is the leader. Isn't it. Imagine if such a thing would be practiced in a corporation. Where would it lead and what would be its long term vision? We don't see things from down what a leader or TOP management sees from the top. So have a little faith and patience and see how things go. Instead of commenting and criticizing each and every move and putting the Leader under the microscope every time.
My observation are totally different to what the scribe has referred, that is One can role the country without being tagged right or left, secondly what we observe with the emergence of PTI is convergence people of left and right ideology on the same platform which would help prevent Pakistan from the brink of disastrous divide into conservative and liberal/secular startas and would help to unite the people on moderation, thirdly it has divided the vote bank of religious parties who has been frequently used by the powerful establishment for its narrow interest, fourthly and lastly what wrongs committed and bad things done to the people of Pakistan for the last forty years cant be corrected/erected fourtnigtly it would take time and determination.
Omar, agree with the gist of what you said, surely surely we should question the leaders and not blindly follow them but when you say "being the lesser of evils is not a valid reason to vote someone into power" and then you say "I’ll vote for the PTI because my candidate is the best of the lot", isn't that exactly voting for the lesser of the evils?
One more thing...I specially liked the fact that IK started his latest grand finale speech today with expression of gratitude to all the minorities of the country for their prayers.
By looking at the sequence of IK's fall, it is clear that he cannot manage to get his way out of a paper-bag. We need a positive thinker rather anticipator not one who reacts. Most great leaders who come to politics did not wait till after their retirement age. They had a proven track record of governance from an early age. IK has made too many wrong and emotional decisions that are poison for a real diplomat. The party is too rigid and arrogant and would not be able to form a workable coalition. While PML-N and PPP have been in power, overthrown, jailed, defeated and sent away yet they faced all those ups and downs. PTI would have a hard time to stay intact after this election because no party would get even close to a simple majority and PTI trolls hate everybody else. They would have to wake up and eat a crow.
I fully agree with the author. The only observation I will cite is that when it comes to behavior of PTI supporters in social media, taking their defense of IK's mistakes at face value is some times misleading because they essentially behave like a tribe...if you go to insaf.pk, most of the threads you will find there are tied to criticism of the party in one way or the other, but when outsiders criticize IK or PTI, they close the ranks for the perceived greater good of defending PTI from political onslaught. As a whole, there is much more healthy criticism that happens across PTI ranks than people might be aware of. Because of the internal party elections, things will get even get better going forward.
Wonderful article, totally agree with the author. I think every educated person should have the courage to question his parties stance on issues that matter. Unfortunately supporting parties blindly is a fashion statement now.
@Author: Well written. This is a true sign of loyal follower. TO have the courage to question the leader when appropriate. Yes Men do not serve their leaders or institutions well as they contribute to group think. @Yasir Khan: Clearly you did not understand the thrust of this OpEd. HE respects Imran as an honest leader but is unwilling to suspend his critical thinking abailities and follow him blindly. Yor response is to ask him to do precisely what he said he will not do: i.e. suspend his own critical thinking and conscience. @k. Salim Jahangir: It seems obvious what he was unhappy with - Imran's caving in to mulahs on the Ahmadi issue. HE isnot confused at all.
The statement the writer quoted, any adult can easily comprehend what Imran Khan meant by --and I am not defending this blindly-- that statement. He said the taliban should stop the attacks and wait for the elections to be over since after coming to power, his regime will change the national strategy for dealing with the taliban and the motivation to conduct bomb-blasts would no longer be there, Insha'Allah. Truly, one of the curses of internet, you can just pick some miniscule thing from some media source and just blow it out of proportion on a blog so the masses get more and more confused.
The writer is a bit confused.......he is for IK......he is unhappy with what??? Brother come out what have you not liked?What do you want him to say or do which will make you happy?
Dear Writer please keep your faith in Allah alive , Imran Khan is the right choice and In Sha Allah soon we will see a brighter Pakistan.
Omar,
I agree with you completely. What the targeted killings and kidnappings have hopefully made quite clear to those tolling under the illusion that the Taliban are misunderstood and a strategic asset is quite the contrary. They are ruthless thugs which are nothing but a liability undermining the foundations and pillars of stability for Pakistan. We must call a spade a spade, and have zero tolerance for this intolerance guised in the garb of faith; their actions are the antithesis of faith.
Mr. Khan should resist accommodating such extremists and stay clear from the path Neville Chamberlain nearly disastrously followed in WWII and allowed the German menace to spread.
We must close ranks against the back and white of terror, extremism, and thuggery. We must unite behind honesty, discipline, and forging a common path ahead out of this mess. What separates the rest of us who share these borders as a people from each other for the most part are shades of gray. our leadership must take notice.