Daily Times

Since his ouster from power, Imran Khan is holding rallies and his followers think he is very popular. Before the vote of no confidence materialised and Khan was still in power, he warned that he would be more dangerous when out of power than in it. He’s striving hard to come true on his words that will only create chaos, which is his prime aim. His addiction to power has no limits.

But what class do his followers generally belong to and what essentially impresses them about him? It’s said that he is popular among the educated middle class of the society consisting of both genders. Is it Khan’s personality, physique, thunder in his voice or the prudent rationale in his speech that attract his followers towards him? One might accept the first three of his personality traits but he falls short in the fourth. Not to forget the poor performance of his government in every sphere of governance as long as he was in power, especially in the nose-diving economy.

Were he to restrict himself from rambling about corruption and corrupt mafias in his speeches, he would have not much to say. He’s not known to possess a thinking mind nor does he practice the etiquettes of the West that he claims to know like the back of his hand. A few years in power lent him imperious arrogance which is palpable by the way he carries himself about. Compare his attitude to that of former British premier Tony Blair. Tariq Ali in his book Rough Music quotes Blair’s oft-repeated pet sentence: “I’m just an ordinary guy.” Will the western-educated Khan ever utter such words about himself?

However, Imran Khan can rightly claim to be the originator of the political culture based on the vilification and foul-mouthing of his political opponents. Recently, he compared the role of some dignitaries with “Mir Jaffar and Mir Sadiq”. On realising that he had crossed the redline, he swiftly changed tack and named Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif for his role compared with that of the two infamous betrayers in history.

Imran Khan can rightly claim to be the originator of a political culture based on the vilification and foul-mouthing of his political opponents.

Imran Khan is popular among a sizeable number of Pakistani expatriates. The ex-pats living abroad for years acquire the values of the local culture. Most of them condemn the past rulers in their home country for corruption. But corruption in different cultures is practised differently. In our society, it mostly involves huge amounts of money dealt underhand that Imran Khan calls hundreds of billions. Poor ‘billion’ belittled to no end.

Do the Pakistanis living in the US think there’s no corruption in that land of abundance? What are the $2,000-a-plate dinners meant for during the election campaigns? This phenomenon is nothing less than corruption but since it’s institutionalised in the system, nobody points a finger toward the morally incorrect practice. And what’re the campaign funds worth millions of dollars doled out to the congress or senate candidates by the most powerful and influential lobby of weapon manufacturers? If the Pakistani ex-pats become too vocal against such immoral practices, they could face serious repercussions.

But the precarious political situation existing in the country has an adverse impact on the economy. The consequences of the economic meltdown directly affect the lives of the poverty-stricken class, which is barely managing to keep its nose above water. Read the statements of the political leaders and you realise the tug of war between various parties is all about power. Imran Khan wants immediate elections, which he is overconfident about winning hands down. He would then be able to appoint the COAS of his choice.

An overseas political observer would be hard put to understand how the future of the politics and, resultantly, that of the nation hinges on the appointment of the COAS. About the western democracies that we are so fond of quoting, the selection of the top military men is of no interest to the ordinary people. Not many would even know the names of their military chiefs.

The hidden hands that nurtured Imran Khan and manipulated to install him in power have now turned neutral, which is Khan’s dilemma. He has even attacked their neutrality and blamed them for his failures of governance. These powers couldn’t imagine that someday he would aim at them. It’s part of his personality cult that for his interests he doesn’t even spare his benefactors.

The writer is a Lahore-based columnist and can be reached at pinecity @gmail.com