I always had great respect for Imran Khan as a great cricketer and as person who gets things done. However he is coming out as a two faced hypocrite who is afraid of calling spade a spade and flippant comments by his spin doctor Shafqat Mahmood cannot sweep this hypocrisy under the carpet.
Following is another poignant reminder of the double game that PTI’ leader is currently playing with the voters:
Quote
Stand up
Aasim Zafar Khan
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Consensus on matters of national concern has never been one of Pakistan’s strong points. Take any issue on the national level, be it education, the economy, healthcare, employment and the like, and you will find that the vote is split. Into a million little pieces. And behind each stance is a motive. Sometimes it’s profit, sometimes it’s power and influence, and sometimes greed.
The shooting of Malala Yousafzai has again brought the same difference of opinion/stance to the forefront of Pakistani politics and society. Yes, there has been uproar in a considerable section of Pakistani society, but when we’re talking about a population of 180 million people, this section becomes a drop in the ocean. And as is oft the case in Pakistan, we don’t really have a clear idea about what the silent majority thinks of this incident. We can guess, but we don’t know for certain.
There are two major points of worry when one looks at the Malala incident from a politics perspective. Firstly, there has to be a line beyond which politicking ends and patriotism trumps everything else. No matter how far out that line is, there ought to be one. And in certain matters incidents must not become another chance to score votes. Sadly, almost all parties have come out swinging, trying to smear the stance of their rivals. And in this uproar we have failed, yet again, to have a united stance of condemnation, anger and hurt on a matter related to terrorism.
The worst of the lot are those who, knowing all of the above, still can’t come out and say, Hey, this isn’t all right, these are bad people, and we need to do something about this problem. Top of this list these days is Imran Khan. The far right has always been of this very mindset as well. But it is surprising and saddening to see Imran Khan being a coward. He was anything but, on the cricket field. But, then again, this isn’t cricket. This is a matter of intolerance, plain and simple. And tolerating intolerance makes you what?
The second point worthy of mention is the fact that we still don’t know what to do with terrorism and terrorists. Do we talk, or do we fight? Can we talk, or can we fight? Can we bomb them onto the negotiating table and then talk from a position of strength? With sympathisers within the political fold and elsewhere in society as well, the fight option looks unlikely. But if someone asked me whether we should talk to terrorists, my counter-question would be: would you talk to someone if they tried to murder your daughter? Would you talk to someone if they bombed your family? Would you talk to someone who forced you to think in a certain way, dress in a certain way and act in a certain way? Would you talk to someone who brainwashed young boys, perhaps from your own backyard, to blow themselves up in a crowded marketplace or mosque? Would you talk to someone who slit people’s throats and recorded it on video cameras for later distribution? Would you talk to someone who banned education and music? Any form of negotiation with these folk would mean that we, or our elected officials, would end up being the ones giving room, not them. After all, that’s what politics is about. And in matters of ideology, there is no room to give.
But if you would still talk to these people, please stop reading now.
The time for talk is over. In fact, it’s way past now. I am reminded of a speech delivered by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons in the United Kingdom on June 4, 1940: “We shall not flag or fail, we shall go on to the end. We shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and strength in the air, we shall defend our land, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”
And, boy, did they fight!
Where’s our Churchill? Where’s our Ataturk, our de Gaulle, our Mahathir?
My dear country-folk, the time has come and gone and come again. We shall not get many more opportunities to tackle this issue. The tide is turning, for the worse. Before this country is overrun, and peace-loving moderate people like you become the outcasts, stand up. Stand up and say no more of this butchery, this narrow-mindedness, this bigotry.
Stand up, roll up your sleeves and get ready to fight...for Pakistan.
After all, everyone dies. What you die for is up to you.
The writer is the chief operating officer of a private FM radio network and tweets at @aasimzkhan
Stand up - Aasim Zafar Khan
For the record, I am against bombing North Waziristan because the TTP murderers will simply move to big cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar & Quetta. I would prefer change in laws whereby persons suspected of terrorism are unable to get bail so easily. The debate here is however about the undying passion of the PTI leader for the Taliban killers.
