Faith and fear are the most stupendous forces in this world and faith is greater than fear. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the four times-elect President of the United States stirred the nation with these words "The only thing we have to fear is the fear itself" and successfully steered America out of the two darkest crisis of the 20th Century ie the great depression and the World War II.
Unruffled by the fears of these soul-crushing challenges and the faith in his vision and the resilience of the American character, he was able to put the country on the path to dizzying heights and a superpower destined to choreograph the contours of the world map. He led by personal example and was lucky to see the miracle unfold during his lifetime.
The Muslims of the sub-continent were also lucky to have a leader like him in Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who fearlessly fought against the machinations of the imperialist power and the Hindu political leadership with an unshakable faith in his cause, fermented the fragmented Muslim community into a nation and won them a homeland on an ideological basis, which was an unparalleled event of the 20th Century. Alas! He did not live long enough to consolidate the gains of independence and build Pakistan in conformity with his vision and the religious ethos of the nascent nation. The political leaders who succeeded him proved unworthy of carrying forward his mission. They pushed Pakistan into an unending spin through their criminal digression from the path envisioned by the Quaid and the culture of graft and entitlement that they perpetuated with a missionary zeal, further accentuated by the interventions of the military adventurers who adopted self-serving policies in complete disregard of national interests.
The nation and the country need a leader with indomitable character like Quaid-e-Azam imbued with the incendiary spark of Bhuttos to beat this fear factor and rebuild the faith of the nation in its destiny. After Quaid-e-Azam, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was a leader with vision, who became an unquestionable leader of the teeming millions. He gave them voice and hope, lifted the morale of the nation after the Dhaka Fall, laid the foundation for Pakistan becoming a nuclear power, gave the country a consensus constitution and constitutional democracy, restored prestige of Pakistan in the comity of nations through his bold foreign policy. Bhutto united the Muslim Ummah and manoeuvred millions of jobs for the skilled and non-skilled Pakistanis overseas, particularly in the Middle Eastern countries, which had become the biggest and perennial source of foreign exchange for Pakistan. Unfortunately, however, his exploits sent a shudder through the nerves of the imperialists who took him as a threat to their interests and eliminated him through a military dictator whom they also used to do their bidding in Afghanistan in the wake of Soviet invasion, a measure that still continues to haunt us. Musharraf also pursued the policies of the Zia era and pushed Pakistan into the war on terror that has become a major factor in raising the existentialist threat to Pakistan. Bhutto's daughter did try to fight the reactionary and non-democratic forces with a manly flavour which strengthened her credentials as a politician of international stature and also endeared her with the downtrodden within the country. But unfortunately, like her father, she also fell victim to the forces of evil.
The advent of Imran Khan on the political chessboard is a welcome addition to the political landscape of the country. But billing him as a game-changer by the media and political observers, seems an over-exaggeration. There is no doubt that he is attracting big crowds in his rallies that indicate his growing popularity among the masses and an expression for change by the people, but that does not mean that change has arrived.
Even if he is able to weave an alliance with the religious and rightist parties and win the elections he will not be able to have his way because alliances of parties with diametrically different political agendas have always proven short-lived and counter-productive.