People rally behind politicians who stand up for national honor, but in rare cases, phony politicians fail to win support from masses. In the process, heroes lose respect, and turn followers into adversaries. Take for example Imran Khan, a national hero so many of us grew up worshiping, but sadly, now we are witnessing him go insane, publicly.
For example, addressing the Pindia Bar Association on Saturday, Imran spewed incredible hate for everyone who believes in modernity, tolerance, and progress. This is just pathetic because Imran’s hatred for the Western world has reached alarming level and no human being can be objective, or fair, if he or she becomes this insane.
When Imran Khan launched his political party, it was believed that Imran intends to build on his good work which started with his cancer hospital. He said all the right things, promised reform, even threatened revolution to bring about a change in a system which he alleged was corrupt. But nothing pawned out and in the end, Imran himself changed, and his promise to be honest and upright vanished, just like Imran’s ability to differentiate between right and wrong.
Today, Imran hufs & pufs about independent judiciary, but think about this irony for a second; those who have been fighting for democracy since 1977, those who have been imprisoned for decades, those who lost jobs, families, savings, futures and hopes are being lectured by Imran Khan, a failed politician, a failed husband, a failed father, and a failed moral cop who never even lifted a finger to protest Zia’s brutal Martial Law.
Democratic warriors fought their way back to the Prime Minister House and to the Presidency in Islamabad and now they are being condemned by the likes of Imran Khan?
Give me a break. Give all of us who support democracy a break.
When Musharaff sacked the Chief Justice, everyone denounced this firing. Every political party, except the Q League came out strongly in favor of independent judiciary and so did Imram. However, when the lawyers’ movement became a one man show, a show to restore the deposed Chief Justice, sensible political parties started to drift away. P.P.P, M.Q.M and A.N.P focused on making sure that the judiciary is independent, instead of focusing only on reinstating the fired Chief Justice. Everyone realized right after the Chief Justice was fired the second time that it was the system that was in need of a permanent fix. PPP and ANP correctly pointed out that there are judges who took oath under controversial conditions, provided cover to Musharraf and they were still willing to work after Musharraf fired their colleague not once, but twice. This approach to repair the judicial system was, and still is the right approach to fixing this problem permantly. .
Imran is free to fight for independent judiciary, but he forgets that it is Asif Zardari who was wrongly imprisoned for almost 12 years, not Imran Khan. It was Asif Zardari who could not even get a bail hearing, let alone come out on a bail for over a decade in Pakistan. Therefore, criticism of Zardari from Imran for not being serious about fixing judiciary is tragically stupid.
If Imran is serious about change, he should understand that it is not necessary to have an elected office to make change possible. Being in power or having an elected office does not necessarily mean being able to bring change in any society or a country.
Muhammad Yunus started Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and changed millions of lives. His work won him a Noble Peace Price. Muhammad Yunun did all this without every seeking any political office. Warren Buffett donated $32.5 billion, (yes, billion with a b) of his own money to help poor people around the world. Warren Buffett did not inherit this money. He earned every penny of it but gave it all away to make a difference in the lives of thousands and thousands of people. Warren Buffett never wanted any political office to bring change in society. Bill Gates, who revolutionized computer usage, quit the company he started to focus on charity work. Bill Gates has donated $29 billion (yes, billion with a b) between 2000 and 2008 of his own money to help poor people in Africa and in India. Andrew Carnegie who was born in December 1835 and died in August died in 1919 earned millions and gave away millions. He was born in poverty, but he became a successful businessman and helped establish over 2,500 public libraries as well as supporting institutions of higher learning. By the time Carnegie’s life was over, he had given away 350 million dollars. 350,695,653 (approximately $4.3 billion, adjusted to 2005 figures). Andre Carnegie never tried to run for any political office, yet he has influenced so many people in the world.
These example and many more prove that we need sincere effort, not political office to help people and to improve lives. Imran Khan was born into wealth and if he wants to leave the world gracefully, he should forget politics and remember what Andrew Carnegie had said – “To Die Rich is to Die in Disgrace”
Bilal Qureshi
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