The cult of Imran Khan

“Imran Khan is the ultimate leader for our generation,” a friend of mine pronounced with finality.


Faria Syed April 29, 2010

“Imran Khan is the ultimate leader for our generation,” a friend of mine pronounced with finality at a small get together recently. She had heard him speak at a college lecture and had been converted in to a growing cult of Khan followers. “But why?” I asked. She told me he stood for youth and hope and was against corruption.

I was shocked to hear an educated young adult spout political clichés with unadulterated sincerity. I was even more shocked to see my other friends nod in agreement. How had Khan managed to get my friends riled up when they are generally the most politically apathetic bunch of people I know? Some of them did not even know the name of his party and certainly could not name any member besides Khan. But they defended Imran Khan tooth and nail when I said he could not be the next president of Pakistan.

“We are behind him. The youth is behind him.” “But why? Which of his policies do you support?” I asked. My friends were confused. “Do you think he is rightist or leftist?” Pin-drop silence. The idea that educated young adults could follow a leader with the same unquestioning zeal as PPP jiyalas without even understanding his party agenda was disturbing to say the least. Could they be brought to mass movement with a single tweet or sms alert? The reasons my friends gave for their support of Khan were depressing.

“At least he is not Zardari,” said one. Another pointed out that he had started a non-profit hospital for cancer patients. No one mentioned politics. I eventually convinced my friends to find out a little bit more about Imran Khan before blindly following him. I have nothing against Imran Khan as a person. Not only is he a good-looking Pakistani man of which there are few but he also won the World Cup a long time ago. But if I would not vote for Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger or Jamie Oliver based on sex appeal alone why would I vote for Imran Khan?

COMMENTS (43)

nadeem | 14 years ago | Reply the point missed by most sans shabbar probably is that ik could be the best thing to have happened to Pak after bhutto if he had been original, he had the charisma , the following but he is a fake. he tied to cash in on every sentimental issue but failed to understand that If I want to vote for something taliban jui is the choice ,if usa haters ji is original so on how can a man of playboy past can claim to be pious ( atleast accept/ repent) how can a dictator in a small outfit like a cricket team can be democratic so mr ik stop playing to gallery if u have guts come out with something original
hammad | 14 years ago | Reply The problem is that those who are criticising imran khan don't even know what his vision actually is. They just present lame arguments that he is a political lightweight and has no prospects in politics. Does his being a political lightweight justify us to support zardari, nawaz and altaf who are used to taking u-turns to protect their own interests? However, you can criticize him for his political strategy but straight-away denouncing him without any logical reason is not justified. His credibility can be determined by the fact that whatever he has, it is in pakistan unlike zardari, sharif and now musharraf who would disappear as soon as they find that the situation is not feasible for them.
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