Imran Khan, Tahrir Square and the Light and Music Show
By Humaira Masihuddin
Islamabad, Pakistan
“This dharna will be so memorable that people will forget Tahrir Square,” roared Imran Khan in one of his speeches at the sit-in in Islamabad. The absolute injustice of the statement, the sheer falsehood of the lies and propaganda, propelled me to finally pen down the turbulent thoughts that agitate my mind and will not let me rest till I have expressed them.
Tahrir Square, which has become a symbol of resistance and revolution, saw an 18-day protest that pushed out of power a tyrannical and oppressive regime, that of Hosni Mubarak after three decades of dictatorship. The young and old, women and men who braved police brutality of the worst kind were saluted by the world. For those who don’t know, the Egyptian police deliberately targeted the eyes of the protesters, according to an Egyptian security analyst at a conference on policing.
Policeman Sobhi el Shanawy became the famous eye sniper in the Tahrir Square protests, which also gave to the world a group of protesters called “revolutionary alliance of the one eye” (this was a group of people who had lost an eye during the protests). 846 people gave their lives and 6000 people were reportedly injured. It was shocking to hear the rhetoric of Imran Khan comparing the light and music show in which the leaders and the polity danced joyously and to their utter enjoyment night after night to Tahrir Square.
The above is a glimpse of the kind of politician and thinker that Imran Khan is. With his endless comparisons of political moves to cricket and test matches, he shows a very flippant and non-serious thought process. Comparing a sit-in by 250,000 people against a three decade long dictatorship to protests against alleged rigging in a few constituencies hardly shows any kind of deep reflection. He and his maze of confused followers never fail to amaze one. His followers on social media kept on comparing him with the great Quaid i Azam, the founder of this nation, throughout the election campaign. This must be the most atrocious and unfair comparison ever seen. The Quaid was once described in one of our school magazines as “precociously rational and practical. Discrete and dispassionate in his estimate and acceptance of life”; compare that to someone who says on record in front of the whole nation, “I am a fast bowler, I don’t have patience.”
I keep on thinking about this dangerous self-revelation in the light of the yardstick provided by the Quaid, a great and formidable statesman: “Politics is a game of chess; every point for and against has to be weighed patiently and the leader has to see ten moves ahead”. Is Imran Khan a politician in any sense of the word, especially in the light of the words of the Quaid, the most successful lawyer / statesman in recent world history, is a question which this nation must ponder upon deeply . Can a person with admittedly no control over his emotions be trusted with the affairs of the state and most importantly the security and well-being of the people of Pakistan? His linear, simplistic and completely warped understanding of security issues, especially the etiology of terrorism as well as its timeline, have already become a cause of concern and alarm for security analysts as terrorism was, and is, the greatest threat to the existence of our polity. That, coupled with an emotional, non-discerning personality, could spell disaster if he is ever in a position of authority.
His “brown sahib” remarks, running down countrymen, falsely presuming that Pakistanis would give anything to have the kind of lifestyle he had and to move in the kind of company (read British elite) he moved in, used to draw amused laughter from most people. His delusions and arrogant air were irritating but because of his amazing social work, were tolerated. But his inability to comprehend, compare and critically analyze issues is no laughing matter. He has mishandled the war against corruption that we were all eager to fight in a comprehensive , sustainable and legal manner by lying, instigating and using terror tactics. Pakistan, beware of this man.
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