David Vs Goliath
By Perwaiz Ahmad
Fullerton, CA
At long last, David (Imran Khan, PTI) has triumphed over Goliath (Nawaz Sharif, PML-N) - a long shot, an insurmountable task by any standards just a few years ago.
A few years before the birth of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah founded the first English newspaper and appropriately named it “DAWN” as Muslims of the Subcontinent finally saw the daylight in their lives after decades of deprivation in all walks of life under the British Rule where the Hindus outnumbered Muslims manifold. The victory of Imran Khan seems like a sequel to the 1947 partition euphoria because there is a profound sense of relief on the faces of the young and the old. If anything else, Imran Khan's message of accountability and austerity at all levels, starting from the Prime Minister's office, has finally resonated with the populace.
After the departure of President Musharraf before 2008, the two major political parties, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League Noon (PML-N) had an unwritten understanding, “You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours” to ensure that no other party dared to challenge them. Together they corrupted all institutions for personal gains to establish their dynasty. Judiciary, which is the backbone of any democratic system to thrive, became irrelevant in the last 30 years taking Pakistan to the point of no return. Current Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar's testimony is enough to expose corruption in the Judicial System.
Imran Khan's relentless pursuit to call a spade a spade never dimmed since Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf (PTI) was formed even though he was ridiculed left and right and suffered several defeats during his 22-year struggle. The PTI struggle gained momentum after the 2013 election when Imran asked the Election Commission to recount votes in just four constituencies. Although it wouldn’t have done much for the PTI because PML-N had won a vast majority but for Imran Khan, it was a matter of principle and belief to prove that the voting was rigged. He went all the way to the Supreme Court to fight his case but the Judges wouldn’tgive him time of the day. When all options were exhausted, Imran took his fight to the streets holding the biggest and longest dharna (sit-down) -126 days in the history of Pakistan - a record that not even Z. A. Bhutto could claim.
People came in huge numbers, young and old, men, women and youth to listen to him, to give him a chance to plead his case of massive corruption in the Government. It finally dawned on the masses that Imran Khan is a no-nonsense man, is honest to the bone, and detests nepotism, cronyism. He had given millions to his paramount causes: the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital in Lahore and the Namal University in Mianwali. He set an example of leading from the front, and facilitating people who take pride in helping family and friends move up the ladder without commensurate qualifications.
His two ideals from the twentieth century are M.A. Jinnah and Allama Iqbal who had understood the ideals of our beloved Prophet (PBUH) which is to serve the downtrodden populace, justice for all, in other words Haqooqul Ibad. Stanley Wolpert, in his book Jinnah, said, “Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Muhammad Ali Jinnah did all three.”.
Conversely, the other political parties who wear Islam on their sleeves never launched a campaign (Jehad) in the last 70 years to eradicate massive corruption, poverty, child labor, exponentially growing birth rate, unhealthy and adulterated foods, medicine, hygiene, education for the downtrodden, dirty, filthy and unpaved streets, air pollution which is cause of asthma and other diseases, transportation for the lower class who cannot afford a bicycle but is in the forefront of shutting down businesses to protest a cartoon printed in Europe.
Imran Khan's relentless pursuit of perfection made him the fastest bowler, the best all-rounder, and the best captain in the cricket world. Under his captaincy he lifted the Pakistan cricket team from obscurity, after the 1962 debacle in England under Captain Jawed Burki, to win a cricket match in every cricket-playing host country on the globe. At the peak of his career, he retired from cricket but returned when Gen Zia ul Haq pressed him to a come back for his country's sake.
Hard work and leading by example he picked his team for the 1992 World Cup and became victorious in the 1992 World Cup, a feat that has never been repeated in the last 26 years. His team won against all odds after facing elimination in the early rounds. With a tiger imprinted on his tee shirt he motivated his team by comparing its members to a cornered tiger which inspired the team's morale to give 110%; the rest is history.
He did not rest on his laurels but instead took upon himself to building the first state -of -the-art Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre(SKCH) in 1994 to honor his mother who died from cancer. When he floated the idea of a new cancer hospital he received no encouragement from the doctors who were in his initial exploratory committee. The cost to build was astronomical but his will and resolve were so strong that he took upon himself to go all over the world asking for donations. Even in India he was received with open arms by great celebrities and super stars like Dilip Kumar, Amithab Bachchan and the likes for a genuine cause, collecting huge amounts during fund-raising events.
Our future now is filled with hope where injustice had prevailed for decades with no ends in sight despite scores of religious leaders quoting the Qur’an and Hadees day in and day out but doing nothing tangible to eradicate corruption that had reached astronomical heights. Political animosity and vindictiveness had reached new heights starting from Gen Zia ul Haq, the bearer of Islamic torch. The so-called “elite” lived like billionaires while the Middle Class couldn’t make ends meet and the poor could not afford two square meals a day.
Imran Khan won the hearts of millions because his name had become synonymous with integrity, simplicity in life, a go-getter approach, honesty, trustworthiness, fairness, bluntness (calling a spade a spade), feeling the pain for the poor and the downtrodden because he has delivered in the form of Cancer Hospital and Namal University. To the astonishment of a Judge in England he turned down hundreds of millions of dollars in the divorce settlement with Jemima Khan because he could never keep money that he did not work for. He never yearned for a lifestyle of the rich and famous at any cost despite the fact that he was the most eligible bachelor during his exemplary cricket career.
Long live Pakistan under the leadership of Imran Khan and may all those who follow him have the same compassion for Pakistan, have self-respect, a clear conscience, fear of the Almighty and importance of the Rule of Law.
In the end I would like to quote from the Holy Qur'an, “Wealth and sons are allurements of the life of this world: but the things that endure, Good Deeds, are best in the sight of thy Lord, as rewards, and best as (the foundation for) hopes”.
The Holy Qur’an 18:46
In other words “The true foundation of hope is the good that we do in this life”.
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