Imran Khan Loves Chaos
By Syed Kamran Hashmi
Westfield, IN
If you like Donald Trump’s rocky presidency, you will enjoy Imran Khan in the Prime Minister office even more. Why? because of the similarities in politics and personalities between the two: both of them know how to attract media attention; both hurl unfounded accusations at their rivals like that of the thirty-five punctures in case of the former cricketer and that of phone tapping in case of the forty-fifth President; both of them promise to make their countries great again through self-projection; both of them rely upon personal success in fields other than public service to promote their political agenda and in the end, both of them have lives full of ‘colorful’ stories: multiple marriages, foreign wives, past associations and, needless to say, renewed religiosity.
Remember during the campaign, Mr. Trump proclaimed that the election process was rigged, that the mainstream media had gone out of its way to oppose and belittle him, that his own party was conspiring against his nomination. Based on that, he had concluded he would not accept the polling results if he lost the elections. The only result acceptable to him therefore would be those that declared him the next President of the United States. Even during the nationally telecasted debates with Hillary Clinton, his opponent and the Democratic Party nominee, he did not step back from his assertion, although she had reassured to embrace the people’s verdict regardless of the outcome.
Unfortunately, our Prime-Minster-wannabe suffers from the same illness. Till today, after all the time spent (wasted) on sit-ins, after all the attacks on the Pakistan Television Station and the Parliament Building, and after all the u-turns taken in front of the judicial commission, he still has not accepted the truth that almost twice as many people voted in favor of Pakistan Muslim League than Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI), that his party lost the elections by a huge margin.
In a rare moment, he was provided with a golden opportunity to prove his assertions in front of the judicial commission, a tribunal that was set up after months of negotiations with the government to lay out the evidence before the judges, where, unable to differentiate between an opinion and reality, he failed to impress the panel and lost. But that still could not stop him from casting accusations, hurling abuses. Even today, so convinced does he sound in his interviews that if there was any hope of success the Chairman of PTI would call for another long march to protest and shut down the country for as long as it takes, to topple the constitutionally elected government and derail the democratic process and to catapult him and his brand new Shirvani into the office of the Prime Minister!
I guess for him to sound convinced and assertive as an opposition leader is more important on the television than to be factually correct, to be truthful and to be honest. That strategy works when you are not running the show, when you are not involved in the decision making process. You are free to criticize every decision made by the administration. But once you are the one who makes those choices and is then criticized by everyone in the opposition and the media for them-no matter how well intended those rulings have been-it is hard not to lose patience and avoid entering into a war setting off new waves of scandals.
In case of the current American President, the media has turned from fake to failing to a foe, the enemy of the people, in a matter of few months. He has not tried to hide his discontent from the beginning of his campaign. Donald Trump believes, being in the business himself, that he can communicate with the people directly and more effectively through the social media. His tweets still make the headlines. In case of Mr Khan though, who relies heavily upon the electronic media to project his views, the media has so far remained on friendly terms as well. Most commentators and experts have avoided asking him tough policy questions. Aside from his bad temperament, one reason for not doing so is that the media does not want to play the role of the opposition of the opposition party. That, in their point of view, will only empower and embolden the government, the last thing that any organization wants to do. However, that cozy relationship ends as soon as the role changes from an opposition leader to the leader of the house.
The same media which is treated likely a newly-wed wife with care and affection by the opposition becomes a nuisance and is considered more like a mother-in-law for the people in power: nagging, intrusive and way too negative or critical. A “war of roses” ensues afterwards. This, for sure, would happen to Imran khan if he won the elections and came under the same scrutiny. We know it as we see it in the presidency of Donald Trump. Resultantly, his own interviews and tweets will stir the same chaos that we see in America today.
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