Imran in full
Nov 8th 2011, 11:32 by A.R. | DELHI
Pakistan, a personal history by Imran Khan. Bantam Press. 391 pages. 2011
JUDGE only by Imran Khans latest book and it seems remarkable that Pakistans famous cricketer and philanthropist is not already his countrys dominant political figure. By his telling, even before he had put away the ball and bat, politicians clamoured like autograph-hunters to get his attention. Such was his celebrity, renowned integrity and skill as a leader that General Zia ul Haq, the long-serving military dictator, asked him to take a seat in his cabinet in 1988. Five years on a civilian prime minister repeated the offer. Then in 1996 Nawaz Sharif, a leading Punjabi politician poised to become prime minister, begged Mr Khan to take the number-two spot in his party, or at least to form an electoral alliance.
Mr Khan rejected them all. He was too busy with cricket, partridge shooting and setting up Pakistans only specialist cancer hospital. Plus he was shy, nervous even when addressing an assembly of schoolchildren. In any case, he despised politicians, for their evident corruption and lack of ideals. Yet, along the road, Mr Khan decided not only that politics tempted him, but that he would bring about a revolution.
He founded a political party in April 1996, Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice), and found he could shed fears that once held him back. After all he had delivered, almost single-handedly, the greatest single moment in Pakistani history in 1992: delivering victory in the cricket world cup by his brilliant swing bowling and leadership. Now he would take on the political mafia in Pakistan and promote a strong and independent judiciary as the bedrock for democracy and rule of law.
Yet the 15 years since have been tough. His party remains, in essence, a one-man band, short of organisation and leaders. It has not prospered. His judgment, even by his own account, has been flawed. Despite turning down earlier entreaties, he let himself be snared by General Pervez Musharraf, whom he hoped would sweep away corruption and misrule. He admits it was a blunder to collaborate with the general, for example by backing his fraudulent referendum in 2002, which was designed to legitimise the earlier coup. Still, he learned a lesson: in future never again would we support anything unconstitutional. He turned against the general afterwards, helping to rustle up support for a campaign by the countrys chief justice that after six more years helped to end direct military rule.
Mr Khan remains ambitious. He dreams of leading a mass movement of motivated Pakistanis, akin to the broad leftist campaigns of Zulfikar Bhutto, who drew enormous crowds of young, idealist supporters in the 1960s. Ordinary Pakistanis, Mr Khan says, will rally now to his call for politics to be cleaned up, for the promotion of Islam (in a conservative but not radical form) and for breaking off the relationship with Americawhich he sees as the main source of the violence and instability in the region, more so than militants and Islamists. A massive turnout by middle-class, urban types in Lahore for one of those rallies, late in October, suggests that he might be right, though it remains unclear whether they would actually vote for him.
Pakistanis and foreign observers are still unsure what to make of the former cricketer. Snooty types dismiss him unkindly as Im the dim, and he does little to help himself in this book by his repeated references to getting help from a sort of mindreader-cum-soothsayer. Others reject him as Taliban Khan, both for his anti-Americanism and for his idea that militants fighting in tribal areas of the country are not, for the most part, religious extremists, but instead simply Pushtuns (who are misunderstood as much by Pakistanis as by outsiders).
Some sniping at him may be the result of others jealousy or snobbery. Mr Khan has done many fine things, such as setting up his cancer hospital for the poor and now a university in a rural area. And where other prominent Pakistanis loot, Mr Khan gives away money and organises fund-raising among the poor for good causes. If anything could shame the likes of President Asif Zardari, a billionaire who fails to pay a penny in tax, this should.
But even by his own record, Mr Khan comes across as naive, short on the cunning displayed by Pakistans brilliantly awful politicians, who milk funds from the state to keep control of their regional fiefs. More important, he still looks unable to organise. He talks grandly in his book of Pakistans desperate lack of strong institutions, arguing that these are what made Western countries flourish. Yet judge by how his own party has failed to develop over the years, and Mr Khan seems to have little gift for building any structure that goes beyond his personal brand.
Some, notably in his home region of Punjab, have darker suspicions. Remembering those spurned approaches from Generals Zia and Musharraf, they suspect that army men are again plotting to lift Mr Khans political career. His rise is bound to hurt Mr Sharif, whose party, the PML(N), is also Punjabi, and had earlier looked like a reasonable bet for the next general election, which will probably come in late 2012 or early 2013. The army would like to dent Mr Sharif, who has sworn to weaken its role in Pakistani politics. Nothing in his book suggests that Mr Khan is part of any such conspiracy. But perhaps he need not be. The impression left for the reader is of a man who is likeable and sincere, but not much gifted at understanding the motivations and plans of those around him.
Nov 8th 2011, 11:32 by A.R. | DELHI
Pakistan, a personal history by Imran Khan. Bantam Press. 391 pages. 2011
JUDGE only by Imran Khans latest book and it seems remarkable that Pakistans famous cricketer and philanthropist is not already his countrys dominant political figure. By his telling, even before he had put away the ball and bat, politicians clamoured like autograph-hunters to get his attention. Such was his celebrity, renowned integrity and skill as a leader that General Zia ul Haq, the long-serving military dictator, asked him to take a seat in his cabinet in 1988. Five years on a civilian prime minister repeated the offer. Then in 1996 Nawaz Sharif, a leading Punjabi politician poised to become prime minister, begged Mr Khan to take the number-two spot in his party, or at least to form an electoral alliance.
Mr Khan rejected them all. He was too busy with cricket, partridge shooting and setting up Pakistans only specialist cancer hospital. Plus he was shy, nervous even when addressing an assembly of schoolchildren. In any case, he despised politicians, for their evident corruption and lack of ideals. Yet, along the road, Mr Khan decided not only that politics tempted him, but that he would bring about a revolution.
He founded a political party in April 1996, Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice), and found he could shed fears that once held him back. After all he had delivered, almost single-handedly, the greatest single moment in Pakistani history in 1992: delivering victory in the cricket world cup by his brilliant swing bowling and leadership. Now he would take on the political mafia in Pakistan and promote a strong and independent judiciary as the bedrock for democracy and rule of law.
Yet the 15 years since have been tough. His party remains, in essence, a one-man band, short of organisation and leaders. It has not prospered. His judgment, even by his own account, has been flawed. Despite turning down earlier entreaties, he let himself be snared by General Pervez Musharraf, whom he hoped would sweep away corruption and misrule. He admits it was a blunder to collaborate with the general, for example by backing his fraudulent referendum in 2002, which was designed to legitimise the earlier coup. Still, he learned a lesson: in future never again would we support anything unconstitutional. He turned against the general afterwards, helping to rustle up support for a campaign by the countrys chief justice that after six more years helped to end direct military rule.
Mr Khan remains ambitious. He dreams of leading a mass movement of motivated Pakistanis, akin to the broad leftist campaigns of Zulfikar Bhutto, who drew enormous crowds of young, idealist supporters in the 1960s. Ordinary Pakistanis, Mr Khan says, will rally now to his call for politics to be cleaned up, for the promotion of Islam (in a conservative but not radical form) and for breaking off the relationship with Americawhich he sees as the main source of the violence and instability in the region, more so than militants and Islamists. A massive turnout by middle-class, urban types in Lahore for one of those rallies, late in October, suggests that he might be right, though it remains unclear whether they would actually vote for him.
Pakistanis and foreign observers are still unsure what to make of the former cricketer. Snooty types dismiss him unkindly as Im the dim, and he does little to help himself in this book by his repeated references to getting help from a sort of mindreader-cum-soothsayer. Others reject him as Taliban Khan, both for his anti-Americanism and for his idea that militants fighting in tribal areas of the country are not, for the most part, religious extremists, but instead simply Pushtuns (who are misunderstood as much by Pakistanis as by outsiders).
Some sniping at him may be the result of others jealousy or snobbery. Mr Khan has done many fine things, such as setting up his cancer hospital for the poor and now a university in a rural area. And where other prominent Pakistanis loot, Mr Khan gives away money and organises fund-raising among the poor for good causes. If anything could shame the likes of President Asif Zardari, a billionaire who fails to pay a penny in tax, this should.
But even by his own record, Mr Khan comes across as naive, short on the cunning displayed by Pakistans brilliantly awful politicians, who milk funds from the state to keep control of their regional fiefs. More important, he still looks unable to organise. He talks grandly in his book of Pakistans desperate lack of strong institutions, arguing that these are what made Western countries flourish. Yet judge by how his own party has failed to develop over the years, and Mr Khan seems to have little gift for building any structure that goes beyond his personal brand.
Some, notably in his home region of Punjab, have darker suspicions. Remembering those spurned approaches from Generals Zia and Musharraf, they suspect that army men are again plotting to lift Mr Khans political career. His rise is bound to hurt Mr Sharif, whose party, the PML(N), is also Punjabi, and had earlier looked like a reasonable bet for the next general election, which will probably come in late 2012 or early 2013. The army would like to dent Mr Sharif, who has sworn to weaken its role in Pakistani politics. Nothing in his book suggests that Mr Khan is part of any such conspiracy. But perhaps he need not be. The impression left for the reader is of a man who is likeable and sincere, but not much gifted at understanding the motivations and plans of those around him.
