Is Imran’s Anti-Corruption Crusade Unraveling?
By Karamatullah K. Ghori
Toronto, Canada
In an editorial of September 16, 2019, Pakistan Today took a swipe at Imran Khan by taunting him on his alleged euphoria at President Donald Trump’s offer of mediation on Kashmir.
This is typical of that section of Pakistan’s unbridled news media which has been sworn to a campaign to blackball Imran from his first day in power. This spin of his ‘euphoria’ underlines the subtle tactics deployed to try portray Imran as a shallow, shoddy, figure without much substance, much less gravitas, needed in a leader self-avowedly on a trail to transform Pakistan. It tucks into that mischievous snide campaign of Nawaz League and Zardari’s PPP that has been defaming IK as “selected” PM, not elected.
For ensuring my mental equilibrium, I make it a point to spare myself from watching Pakistani television channels’ talk-shows where intellectually-challenged puny political partisans regularly trade barbs. But I do, occasionally, watch live news. As such, I’m witness to this ‘euphoria’ episode which actually transpired at the airport upon Imran’s return from his visit to Trump. The crowd welcoming him was jubilant, if not ecstatic, which made him quip, nonchalantly, that it made him feel as if he was returning from winning another World Cup.
That’s all there is to this euphoria business. Imran is no man’s fool to have been swept off his feet by Trump’s offer of mediation. Even a child brought up in today’s world of 24-hour access to media knows Trump so well as to know that the accidental occupant of the White House is in a theatrical mood, much of the time.
Trump craves publicity. He can’t spend a day without a conscious effort to hog the media limelight. What could be an easier way to capture news reports than say something that would instantly make the headlines in the context of the Pakistani Prime Minister in the Oval Office meeting with him. Kashmir is always a hot topic for Pakistanis. There couldn’t be a shorter cut to the hearts of all Pakistanis, including their PM, than offer to play the peacemaker with Pakistan’s arch-rival India.
Trump knew he’d nothing to lose, because his offer of mediation was conditional: it would kick in only if India concurred. Imran had absolutely zero reason to be jubilant or euphoric, knowing in advance of Trump intoning his mediation offer that Modi will be the last man on this planet to agree to Trump—or for that matter anybody else—playing the referee between India and Pakistan.
But the media gurus, wedded to putting a question mark on Imran’s integrity as a leader, on any excuse, have no compunction twisting facts or tearing them out of context as long as it would help extend their nefarious agenda.
On the face of it, it should be surprising that the ‘euphoria’ story is still alive in the fast-pace Pakistani media where stories have a short shelf-life.
But revival of Imran’s alleged euphoria over Trump’s mediation offer is linked with the campaign now focused on belittling Imran’s commitment to wage a crusade against the pestilence of corruption-in-high-places in Pakistan. Stories are mushrooming in the anti-Imran press of Pakistan by the day that he’s now ready to cut deals with the mega-thieves of Pakistan—looters belonging to the camps of the likes of Zardari and Nawaz. What’s being painted with gusto is a picture of PM Imran ready to trade off his much-touted determination to not spare any effort to bring Pakistan’s principal looters to book, come what may, in return for these culprits coughing up the billions stolen from Pakistan.
To the dismay of those among the Pakistanis whose faith in Imran’s anti-corruption crusade remains still unflagging, some from Imran’s own team are, inadvertently, pouring oil over the fire lit against him.
Sheikh Rashid, never short on bombastic, has been hinting at a ‘deal’ in his off-the-cuff comments to the media. He intoned with wry certitude that Shehbaz Sharif was “in the market” with a serious offer. The voluble Sheikh added that Shehbaz had “ongoing talks for a deal” and was “in contact.” However, typically flippant, a la Trump, that he’s he wouldn’t bother to elaborate who Shehbaz was in contact with?
It’s not only Sheikh Rashid, whose penchant for making sensational revelations has long been mana to eager-beaver media hacks, rocking Imran’s anti-corruption boat all by himself.
A more sober and serious player in Imran’s team, Finance Czar Hafiz Sheikh, was also quoted, recently, saying that “accountability process should not affect business.”
Such casual remarks from those close to Imran fly in the face of Imran Khan’s oft-repeated and forceful assertion that he will, under no circumstances, give a passage out to mega thieves of Pakistan. His zeal to sweep the decks clean off these shady characters remains as unflagging today as it was years ago when he made corruption the lynchpin of his campaign to persuade the Pakistani electors that he was the man who could perform this ‘miracle.
Imran, like any other leader not sleep-walking through their tenure in office, seems fully alive to how a biased media is pulling no punches in its desperate bid to smear his reputation of a bold and principled leader. He must also be feeling the heat coming to his anti-corruption campaign from slips-of-the-tongue attributed to the likes of Sheikh Rashid within his circle of power.
Conscious of the rising tide in the media aimed at watering down his determined bid to go after the corruption sharks, Imran invited Babar Awan to a well publicized meeting in his office. Meeting Awan, a well-known lawyer with his own penchant to nab Pakistan’s mega thieves, provided Imran with a good backdrop to reiterate his resolve to not cut a deal with the thieves or engineer another NRO to accommodate them.
As far as Imran’s crusading zeal to hold Pakistan’s mega culprits accountable is concerned, there’s nary a doubt in the minds of those who haven’t given up on him that he will never compromise.
However, Imran’s steely resolve to not compromise on his mission is utterly baffling to those, like Zardari and Nawaz—and, of course their legions of minions—who are fixated with cutting deals to escape accountability of their crimes.
Zardari and Nawaz belong to that rotten species of men that believe money and lucre can buy their way out of any tight corner. They have past instances from Pakistan’s sordid history of scandals to reassure them and bolster their belief. Musharraf, for one, virtually gave a new lease of life to the likes of Zardari only to give a boost to his own continuation in power.
But IK is cut from a different cloth. Therefore, those seeking to outwit him must deploy other means. Their main weapon is a disinformation campaign, sowing doubts about Imran’s resolve. Media hacks sold to Zardari and Nawaz have taken their gloves off and bared their knuckles; the Pakistan Today editorial is one example of it, written with the clear intent to make readers believe that a deal is in the offing and Imran is close to biting the bait. The hackneyed mantra of ‘a deal’ is thick in the air.
This unfolding episode may look grisly but speaks volumes of how far deep corruption has gone into Pakistan’s body politic. The people of Pakistan, by and large, are alive to the cancer of corruption that, over the years, has spread like a cancer. But to their regret, they become depressed when reminded that, to date, no mega actor of corruption has been made to pay the price of their thievery, despite mountains of evidence against them.
Imran looks determined to break the Gordian Knot that has thus far protected master criminals and dismayed those crying for accountability and justice. In response to his crusade the stakeholders of a rotten status quo have also taken to the field with gusto. The cat-and-mouse game is on with intensity.
There’s an unwritten but judiciously observed norm in the global culture of politics in democratic politics. A new man in office is invariably welcomed with a honeymoon period of at least a few weeks, if not months. Even well-known rogues and scoundrels are accorded this favor. But not so in Imran’s case.
Imran’s induction into high office was a boon to those hankering for departure from the arcane culture of rogues lording over the political landscape. But it was bad news to the partisans of the old and rotten order. So, from his first day in office not only his political rivals and detractors but also the segment of media at their service have been out with sharpened knives to hound him and cut him down ruthlessly. That’s a very depressing foot note on all that’s wrong with ‘The Land of the Pure.’ - K_K_ghori@hotmail.com (The writer is a former ambassador and career diplomat)
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