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EDITORIAL: Oozing confidence, rather over-confidence, in a typical fashion, PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) chairman Imran Khan was very much expected to beat his opponents when they were down, after the drubbing in the by-elections and the subsequent drama about the Punjab chief minister. But he clearly crossed one line too many by overdosing on his holier-than-thou populist rhetoric when he categorically said that he was willing to talk to TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) and Baloch separatists, declared terrorists and enemies of the state, but not “thieves [a euphemism for PTI’s opponents]”.

But since his legions of followers greeted this travesty with loud cheers and social media memes, perhaps some of them, if not Imran Khan himself, will care to clarify two very important points for the people of Pakistan, especially families who have lost limbs as well as loved ones to TTP’s, as well as Baloch militants’, quest for separation.

One, it’s an utter insult to our martyrs and their families. Why do you think these militants were labelled terrorists by the state and the actions of many of them handed the death penalty? Most people of Pakistan have been against these talks, the latest round of which was announced by Imran Khan when he was PM to a Turkish interviewer, since the beginning. Nobody was consulted and the people, who buried more than 80,000 of their friends and family members, were kept in the dark by the government of the man who expects the people of Pakistan to believe that he is the one true deliverer of democracy while all others are mere interlopers.

And “thieves”.

Why and how, then, would the people equate these controversial talks with magnanimity on the part of Imran Khan; especially when he is even not, and never was for that matter, the driving force behind them. He did, however, believe very strongly in them; and clearly continues to do so.

And two, the principles at the core of the kind of democracy Imran Khan has always preached also dictate the concept of “innocent until proven guilty”. Therefore, he and his followers are very welcome to cry and chant “thief”, even paste it on their internet profiles and shout it in people’s faces in restaurants, but only and only if the law says so first. And only and only conspiracy theories do not suffice to answer questions about why most of those “thieves” were never sanctioned by the courts; including, let’s not forget, the near-four years of Imran’s own rule when a very compromised NAB (National Accountability Bureau) chairman enabled investigations and detentions of almost all prominent opposition leaders of the time.

The last thing that so many people of Pakistan should have done, including fanatic followers of PTI, is cheer this statement. Khan is by far the most popular leader of the country at the moment. That also means that he is burdened with more responsibility than the rest of us. And if we can see that this country is dividing to the point of tearing apart when it desperately needs to unite, then surely he can too. The test of true leadership in our case, then, is the ability to bring the people together, not drive them apart even further. Yet this is the one point where all our elite, including Imran and the people he loves to demean and denounce, are lacking very severely.

All things considered, Imran’s statement was out of line and unbecoming of a leader of his stature and a former prime minister of Pakistan. He should retract it without any further loss of time.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022

Comments

Comments are closed.

Masud Canada Aug 07, 2022 08:22am
It was one week ago. It is not an issue any more. We do talk to TTP and BLA directly or indirectly and offer olive branch every now and then. Much water has passed under the bridge since then. Every day is a year in Pakistan politics. IK and populace think alike at the moment. We do not know about future as to who will change first.
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JK Aug 07, 2022 11:53am
what a waste of editorial space by paid write up!
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Shoaib Qureshi Aug 07, 2022 02:59pm
what a waste of editorial space by paid write up!
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Musadiq Aug 07, 2022 03:13pm
@Shoaib Qureshi, did you even read it???
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Musadiq Aug 07, 2022 03:13pm
@JK, did you even read it or understand it?
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HashBrown® Aug 07, 2022 04:52pm
@Masud Canada , You've offered a paragraph of meaningless waffle, but can you address the key point in the article? We will happily talk to the people who openly celebrated the slaughter of children in the APS massacre, but we won't reach out to other political parties. Please don't tell me IK and the populace think alike, because I have lost all faith in this man now.
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Babur Aug 07, 2022 06:35pm
Condemning politicians is one thing but you are condemning people, supporters of PTI who happen to be your customers… Inform your readers, provide your opinion please, but do not condemn and make fun of anyone. I and thousands of your readers would be OK if you had stated that in your opinion PTI should negotiate a way forward with the other political parties. You instead bashed their thinking. Do you have any proof that PTIcis not talk to other political parties?
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HashBrown® Aug 08, 2022 05:42am
@Babur, You guys make me laugh. For over ten years now PTI supporters (like me, once upon a time) have been using the foulest and most offensive language towards the opposition parties and their followers. But you read this mild - very mild - criticism of PTI's voters, and you're suddenly super offended. Hilarious.
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Masud Canada Aug 08, 2022 07:17am
@HashBrown®, you have a point.
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Masud Canada Aug 08, 2022 07:21am
@HashBrown®, TTP issue is too complicated. Do you remember Ehsanullah Ehsan ?
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Humayun Aug 08, 2022 04:09pm
Editor, please check the meaning of metaphor in your dictionary.
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HashBrown® Aug 08, 2022 05:03pm
@Masud Canada , Yes I do remember him brother, and I agree with you it is complicated. But does it have to be? In New Zealand the gunman who killed 50 worshippers was arrested, charged, sentenced and thrown into jail. The PM refused to even mention him by name. In Pakistan the TTP have carried out similar acts for a decade - 80,000 dead - and we're still open to talking to them. We couldn't even keep Ehsan in prison. How is such a thing possible?
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Hassan Aug 08, 2022 06:24pm
Using the blood of victims has NEVER ever been an impediment to talking to violent groups. This logic is purely emotional, and only leads to more bloodshed. The UK spoke to the IRA throughout the troubles, Spain spoke to ETA, America spoke to the Taliban AND Al-Qaida. Etc etc etc so drop the melodrama and accept talks are a reality.
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HashBrown® Aug 08, 2022 08:43pm
@Hassan, Don't use America as an example when it comes to handling terrorists - their targets are overseas, so they can quite happily massacre entire villages with drone strikes and cluster bombs. As for the IRA, they made a point of keeping their targets political - they never openly bragged about butchering entire classrooms of quivering children. So no, comparing them with our terrorists doesn't work at all.
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Masud Canada Aug 08, 2022 11:31pm
TTP is worst. Bur PDM is worse and more harmful than TTP. That was the point IK was trying to bring home. He could have chosen some other example in portraying what is worst. That part is agreed. But as Hassan said we are open to talks and talks are indeed going on. IK is not talking to them. Last few weeks Establishment was talking to them in Afghanistan. We do not know even broad outlines of talks.
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