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BY : Anwer Moraaj
By now, almost all Pakistanis must have heard about the political hurricane that swept Lahore, when the charismatic 59-year-old justice party leader Imran Khan wooed over a hundred thousand people who had come from far and wide to listen to him. Standing tall, he delivered the kind of message that the audience had been longing to hear. What the country desperately needs is honest leadership. The size of the turnout and his hard-hitting speech stunned his opponents and sent shockwaves through the moribund political system.
The address predictably gravitated towards those bullet points that have formed the basis of his manifesto, which he bluntly and remorselessly ticked off accountability, the urgent need for politicians to declare their assets, protection of minorities and women, an independent foreign policy and the urgent need for change. In short, what the country needs is a political revolution. The diatribe was laced with hard-hitting statements such as that it is time the CIA put a stop to drone attacks and it is time we stopped going around the world with a begging bowl. His speech has probably nicked the collective nerve of the Americans and the British, but the audience relished the attacks.
Now that the euphoria has subsided somewhat, one hears the odd squeak of criticism. Making promises is one thing, translating rhetoric into reality is quite another. Huge turnouts are all very well, but there is really no correlation between the size of the crowd and the success of the party at the election. Most of the blokes who turned up to cheer the voice of the future are the types that in the past have been assiduously avoiding the ballet box. Even though he has spread his tentacles into the north, Imran Khans real power base is central Punjab. He has little presence in southern Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. By doing what he did, the PTI chief has greatly increased the PPPs chances of success. Zardari and Gilani must be gloating over the ex-cricketers success on the home turf of Nawaz Sharif
The point that the cynics are missing is that the people are so fed up with the corruption, inefficiency, indecision and ineptitude of past governments that they would welcome any change. Take for instance the case of the gas pipeline from Iran. One fine morning, after somebody must have whispered into Mr Gilanis ear that the people of Lahore had spent the previous winter without proper heating because there was no gas available, he stridently announced that the country would sign an agreement with Iran, because it was in the countrys interest. The Americans convinced him that it was not, and that Pakistan should meet the shortfall through a pipeline from Central Asia which ran through war-torn Afghanistan at three times the cost. The records are littered with other examples of indecisiveness and vacillation on the part of the PPP government.
Imran Khan is about the only Pakistani politician that is yet untried and untested. Its time the nation gave him a chance. The fact that after skirting on the fringe of the political hinterland for so many years he could make such a huge impact says a great deal about the person. He is scrupulously honest, has a clean record and a lot of administrative ability. In choosing his team, he must be careful not to acquire turncoats like Shah Mahmood Qureshi who torpedoed the second reading of Dr Donya Azizs bill, which aimed to remove some of the injustices meted out to Pakistani women.
By now, almost all Pakistanis must have heard about the political hurricane that swept Lahore, when the charismatic 59-year-old justice party leader Imran Khan wooed over a hundred thousand people who had come from far and wide to listen to him. Standing tall, he delivered the kind of message that the audience had been longing to hear. What the country desperately needs is honest leadership. The size of the turnout and his hard-hitting speech stunned his opponents and sent shockwaves through the moribund political system.
The address predictably gravitated towards those bullet points that have formed the basis of his manifesto, which he bluntly and remorselessly ticked off accountability, the urgent need for politicians to declare their assets, protection of minorities and women, an independent foreign policy and the urgent need for change. In short, what the country needs is a political revolution. The diatribe was laced with hard-hitting statements such as that it is time the CIA put a stop to drone attacks and it is time we stopped going around the world with a begging bowl. His speech has probably nicked the collective nerve of the Americans and the British, but the audience relished the attacks.
Now that the euphoria has subsided somewhat, one hears the odd squeak of criticism. Making promises is one thing, translating rhetoric into reality is quite another. Huge turnouts are all very well, but there is really no correlation between the size of the crowd and the success of the party at the election. Most of the blokes who turned up to cheer the voice of the future are the types that in the past have been assiduously avoiding the ballet box. Even though he has spread his tentacles into the north, Imran Khans real power base is central Punjab. He has little presence in southern Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. By doing what he did, the PTI chief has greatly increased the PPPs chances of success. Zardari and Gilani must be gloating over the ex-cricketers success on the home turf of Nawaz Sharif
The point that the cynics are missing is that the people are so fed up with the corruption, inefficiency, indecision and ineptitude of past governments that they would welcome any change. Take for instance the case of the gas pipeline from Iran. One fine morning, after somebody must have whispered into Mr Gilanis ear that the people of Lahore had spent the previous winter without proper heating because there was no gas available, he stridently announced that the country would sign an agreement with Iran, because it was in the countrys interest. The Americans convinced him that it was not, and that Pakistan should meet the shortfall through a pipeline from Central Asia which ran through war-torn Afghanistan at three times the cost. The records are littered with other examples of indecisiveness and vacillation on the part of the PPP government.
Imran Khan is about the only Pakistani politician that is yet untried and untested. Its time the nation gave him a chance. The fact that after skirting on the fringe of the political hinterland for so many years he could make such a huge impact says a great deal about the person. He is scrupulously honest, has a clean record and a lot of administrative ability. In choosing his team, he must be careful not to acquire turncoats like Shah Mahmood Qureshi who torpedoed the second reading of Dr Donya Azizs bill, which aimed to remove some of the injustices meted out to Pakistani women.
and a total revolution 
