Imran Khan - the classic hypocrite

[Mountain_Rose]

It's no secret that throughout his incredibly unsuccessful political career, Mr. Imran Khan Niazi had always referred to and looked upon Benazir Bhutto as an enemy with never a positive word for her (and neither did she deserve it).  In 1996 when there was a minor explosion somewhere within the premises of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital in Lahore (which was widely suspected to have been orchestrated by the TI Party itself to draw some attention), Benazir Bhutto who was then the PM paid a visit to the Hospital to express sympathy.  But Khan's political hatred of her was so intense that he refused to be present at the Shaukat Khanum Hospital to receive the PM.  Even the critics of Bhutto were shocked at Khan's needless arrogance.  
 
It was only after the assasination of Bhutto that his tone changed with a bundle of lies and a selfish motive, of course.  It became his new weapon against the then government.  
 
"I have known Benazir since we were in Oxford together, but we have drifted apart politically since then."  Imran Khan -
Hizb-ut-Tahrir UK

Khan tries to dupe the younger generation of Pakistanis into thinking that he and Bhotto were childhood friends and colleagues sharing a common goal of becoming politicians since their days at "Oxford together."  Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.  Whenever Khan was at Oxford, no one even knew who he was then.  Bhutto and Khan were never friends, neither within nor outside Oxford.  Neither they nor their families even knew each other.  Moreover, while Bhutto was into politics from a very young age, Khan became a politician when he was middle aged, much after his retirement from cricket in the early 1990s.  Prior to that, he had nothing to do with politics and knew nothing of it (which he still doesn't).  They never shared the same goal at Oxford.

"Talking about Benazir, Imran said she was braver than most men he knew. “Benazir was deeply touched by her father, Zulfikar Bhutto’s hanging, she became stronger for that and feared nothing. She knew that her life was under threat. A person with any lesser courage would not have gone into the public the way she did,” he said. - Imran Khan - Pakistan Defence Forum quoting Khan's statements he made while vacationing in Mumbai at the time of Bhutto's assasination."

Khan mentions that her father's death "touched" Bhutto "deeply."  How does he know that?  He never even knew Bhutto nor her family.   Not to mention, the most glaring fact about Benazir Bhutto was that from the time she became PM in 1988, she had diverted drastically from her father's policies, both domestic and global.  Bhutto herself stated in a television interview soon after coming to power that though she admired her father's ability to govern, at the end of the day "we all have our own different views .."   Bhutto surely was "touched", in that, her instincts for massive corruption were sharpened.  Little wonder that after her ouster in 1997, she and her husband were picked as the world's most corrupt couple who, according to very conservative estimates, stole nothing less than a billion U.S. dollars of the Pakistani tax payers' money.  According to more flexible estimates, that figure spikes by as much as eleven billion dollars!  And stealing from the Pakistani tax payers would mean stealing from the poor.  Let's not forget, in feudal Pakistan, only the poor pay tax, not the rich.  Have you ever thought why in Pakisan a politician never lashes out at the 'money making machine' of another politician?  That's because they are all the same.
 
Did Khan really mean that Bhutto feared nothing and was "braver than most men I knew"?  Whether or not he meant it, his words were dead wrong.  Bhutto feared plenty. She particularly feared the pending corruption cases against her being re-opened.  Unlike her brave brother who was murdered at the behest of her wheeler-dealer husband with Bhutto's approval, she was horrified spending time in jail.  Participating in public rallies after her return to Pakistan in 2007 had nothing to do with "bravery."  Firstly, her close advisers did little to make her understand how much Pakistan had changed since 1987 till 2007.  But to be more truthful, Bhutto's lack of security concern came primarily from herself, not from Musharaf, whom Khan perpetually blames for purely selfish reasons.  Referring to Bhutto's death as an act of "bravery" is an affront to this gallant quality.  It was simply Bhutto's infamous greed for power, fame and money that made her unrealistically confident and foolhardy to perceive the dangers of militancy.  Twelve years prior to her assasination, she approved the assasination of her brother because he didn't agree with her unprincipled stance.  In December 2007, someone else ordered her assasination because they didn't agree with her stance .. whatever that was.  What goes around comes around .. those who live by the sword, die by the sword.  
 
It's interesting to read that though Khan mentions that Bhutto was "braver than most men I knew," his ex-wife writes much the opposite in the Telegraph saying "What Benazir lacked was political bravery."  

In an interview with Amy Goodman at Democracy Now dated January 2008, she asked him his views why Bhutto was willing to work with Musharaf and the U.S.  Khan's statement was " .. she needed the US, and she needed Musharraf. The reason, in my opinion and in fact opinion of most people in Pakistan, she needed them because she was stuck in corruption cases, Switzerland and in Spain, and she needed Musharraf to be on her side so that the Pakistan government would not pursue these corruption cases."  But also, in the same interview he refers to her assasination as "very significant because she represented one of the two major parties" though "I did not agree with her tactics."  But he never explained his own contradiction as to how the death of such a famously corrupt politician becomes "significant" for the country.  Was it a superficial significance of losing a political 'celebrity' of sorts or significant for bringing a ray of hope in a country she ruthlessly robbed?   Knowing the confused state of Khan's mind, it's anyone's guess when a critisizm might be twisted into some absurd compliment or vice-versa.

And a bit more on the hypocrisy of this man who claims to be a Pakistani 'nationalist' ..

On December 29th 2007, an Indian newspaper reported:
 
"Imran Khan chills out in Mumbai -  Pakistan may be on the boil following the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto , yet cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan finds time to relax.  Imran is in Mumbai on a personal visit.  Imran, at a press conference in Mumbai, had expressed concerns that 'people have lost faith' in Musharraf and 'nobody is safe in Pakistan.  Who will now address a political rally? Who will come to attend the rally? A recent survey said 80 per cent of the Pakistani people want Musharraf to step down but he refuses to leave his post,' he had said."

I guess, one would need to be some kind of 'nationalist' to say this about one's own country in purely enemy territory.  Being a regular visitor to India for spending time within the elite circles of his Hindu friends in Mumbai (the wealthy business community or the bollywooders), he also shocked many Pakistanis when a few years prior to December 2007, he told the Indian press that he "envied" Indian democracy.  Critisizing your country on your own soil is one thing.  Doing that while visiting an enemy country is quite another story.  In Musharaf's time various Pakistani medias, including Geo TV, frequently came up with scathing critisizm of his government.  Yet, it's mind boggling why Khan needed to rush to India to deride his country.


Express India wrote.

"Praising India on the development front, Khan said he envied the country's democratic institution and hoped that Pakistan too would have an independent Election Commission.
Khan showered praises on India's judicial system .."  

Regardless of his perception being right or wrong, it's just so astonishing that a so-called patriotic Pakistani who has babbled much about his loyalty to his country speaks as such on Indian soil in November 2004, only two years after the horrific Gujrat massacre that killed 5,000 Muslims - an act of state terror planned by the Chief Minister of that province.  It probably exposes Khan's distorted ideas of democracy and judicial system which he would love to implement, should he ever (God forbid) grab the reins of power in inpoverished Pakistan that has had more than her share of suffering.  

It's indeed a relief that by the Grace and Mercy of God,  Mr. Khan is a doomed politician with little money, almost no public support and destined never to succeed.  Even the simple minds of the Pakistani masses who have always been so apathetic and forgiving towards the country's most vile politicians have not been able to ignore Khan's gross double standards and inconsistencies sprouting from his very muddled thoughts.

Now, after Musharaf has stepped down and Khan is still rotting in square one .. as usual, the song he's singing against the present government is that they're trying to shield Musharaf by not reinstating the judges.  
 
Someone I know had once referred to Pakistan as the 'world's little prostitute.'  Oh! so true !!  Pakistani politics isn't about serving Pakistan.  It's about castes, unions, lawyers, bribery and maximum manipulation.  It's next to impossible for a decent human being to cope with.  You need to think like a scumbag and yet somehow appear like a saint in public eyes.  The imperialistic powers are only enjoying this big mess that serves their interest better and better.

[Zeynab]

Excellent observation, sister Rose.  This man's behavior is just as weird as his striking old age resemblance to Mick Jagger.  Mr. Khan's rantings against Benazir and her husband on their corruption was loud and frequent, and very correct.  And now he compliments her by stating "Benazir was deeply touched by her father, Zulfikar Bhutto’s hanging, she became stronger .."  Does he mean that her father's hanging made her embrace the politics of corruption as a rebound?  .. because corruption was the only thing both her governments were famous for.  That much we all know for sure.

Now, here's an interesting comment I read in the Dawn Blog posted by a guest.

Quote -----

Imagine if Imran Khan 'Nazi' became PM of Pakistan:

1)  Javed Miandad will be deported from Pakistan.
2)  Qasim Omar will be in Jail.
3)  Saeed Anwar will be banned from participating in any activities.
4)  No cricket match will be held in Karachi.
5)  Shoaib Mohammad, Moin-ul-Atique, Asif Mujtaba and Gulam Ali will not be allowed to watch cricket matches.
6)  Mansoor Akhtar will be made chief minister of Sindh.
7)  Abdul Qadir will be chief minsiter of Punjab.
8)  Mohd Younis (ex Imran friend) will be minster of old (baba) cricketers.
9)   Saleem Jaffer will be chairmian of cricket board.
10) Sarfraz Nawaz will be under house arrest.
11) Finally, Miandad will be sentenced to death.

Unquote -----

LOL - this left me in splits .. even though I don't recognize the names of most of the people mentioned above.  It's an interesting sarcasm hurled at Khan's ignorant hypocrisy.

[Cat_prowler]

Mick Jagger?  lol ---- so correct.  You know, I would always wonder that he resembles someone familiar but couldn't place it.  You perceived very well, sister.

In one online article, I just don't recall which one except that it was an Indian website as Khan's always running to India, I read his comments on BB's death stating that his "heart went out to her children."  lol ----   this was fantastic.  I bet he's never even met Bhutto's hulking kids.  If he saw their photos without tags, he wouldn't even recognize who they are.  Emiting such crap from the mouth is a sign of being all too busy with nothing to do.

[Mountain_Rose]

lol - thanks sisters cat and zeynab.  Your feedbacks are hilarious!

[persian_thinker]

Yes, this is very a hypocritical move.  Though I don't know a huge lot about Pak politics, this guy never before left a margin for the so-called emotional impact her father's hanging had on BB.  Instead quite the opposite.  He was perpetually at loggerheads with BB for her massive corruption and I recall reading most of his critisizms of her were harsh and contemptuous.  As is obvious, he's walking the road of dirty politics.  Before Musharaf, he critisized BB.  When Musharaf took BB's place and especially after BB died, he started targetting Musharaf.  Now Musharaf has resigned and Khan sees the obstacle in Zardari so he's grumbling at Zardari for protecting Musharaf.  He's a trouble-maker and getting a bit frustrated for not having been able to move forward uptil now.  If he is really into ethical critisizm, I don't know why he hasn't yet spoken about how unjustly Zardari stole the leadership of the party with a 'will' that's widely recognized as a forged one, for the purpose of continuing the dynastic politics.

[Zeynab]

Little more to spill the beans ..


IMRAN KHAN - HYPOCRISY AND SELECTIVE MORALS

Mr. I.Khan's popularity might be more among Pakistanis outside of Pakistan than within. The reason being, it's easier to get a closer look from within that turns fantasy to fact. However, let's face it. The only reason why Mr.Khan gets even the scant support that we sometimes see is because he is as yet untested. It's a similar euphoria (on a much lesser scale of course) that surrounded Benazir Bhutto when she came to Pakistan in 1987. But once these guys are put to the test (i.e. elected and acquire power), they all prove to be of the same lot. Everyone talks big prior to coming in power yet no one has refrained to show their true colors after acquiring power. Mr. I. Khan is absolutely no exception.

Those who are singing that old number titled "I don't doubt Imran's sincerity .." ought to know that this guy is the only politician who couldn't restrain showing his true colors even before he could grab the smell of power. Apart from his well-known autocracy that's led to the miserable centralization of the TI party, during the elections of 1997 his nomination papers came under intense scrutiny (almost rejected) when he was caught of massive tax evasion and making false statements. When asked to declare his assets, the staggering response from Mr. IK was that he had "no assets." When told to declare his wife's jewellery, the appaling reply was that she had "nothing" of that. Prior to contesting the 1997 polls, he gave a statement that set everyone's head spinning like a top when he uttered a FALSE concept that men are to enjoy greater social freedom than women according to "Islam."

Khan's problems of tax evasion and male chauvinism are pretty notorious that don't even require a debate. Like all politicians, there are various other ethical violations graciously exhibited by Mr. Khan during this period and beyond that are needless to mention.

We've reached an era when corruption is legalised 'behind the veil' in all political circles of Pakistan .. to an extent that the Pakistani media doesn't even find the stories on corruption to be sensational any longer. But all this doesn't change the fact that the malignancy of rampant corruption, double-talk and political arrogance has brought Pakistan into her terminal stages. The only way out is to liberate our minds from misguided fantasies and make these cut-throat leaders realize that Pakistan is nobody's kingdom. If we are to be prosecuted for not paying our taxes, so must they. It's pathetic that such justice is a luxury in Pakistan, and still more pathetic that the 'Justice' Party plans to bring justice to no one. 

I wouldn't even talk of Zardari.  But as for Musharaf's era,  I admit 'Mushocracy' wasn't as pleasing as Democracy but but it was preferable to 'Idiosyncrasy' and 'Kleptocracy' that carry the greatest responsibility for ravaging Pakistan.

Another truth about this man is his deep link with the Jewish community of UK. Thus, it's a common joke that each time he arranges a demo etc., they ask "what kinda money is he using now, hard-earned money or Jewish money?"

Lack of experience is not the only shortcoming of Khan, rather it's one of the many .. frilled with an amazing shortage of common sense.  But experience put aside, Mr. Khan's false statements exposing his heartfelt tendencies to cheat as an insignificant politician (only God knows what sort of rampage this man will go on if he ever becomes PM) is not about experience. It's about mindset.  It's true that Khan had no experience back in the early 90s, so he lied like a fool then. Comparatively he's a bit more experienced as a double-talk fraud now, so he'll make sure he lies a little more intelligently. But the 'experience' and 'intelligence' of Pakistani politicians are not meant to benefit the masses. These 'intelligent' minds only develop to get personified into a type of intellectual evil. The experience that builds up with time is only constructed with the help of this evil. And please don't ask for any "references" on these. We've got 61 years of history screaming at us that mere 'cheerleader' optimism without the support of realism is totally futile.

Khan and his small group of supporters also claim that their rivals are constantly using his personal life against him.  That's a joke!  Frankly, the people of Pakistan have enough woes of their own already. They couldn't give a rat's tail for this old man's secret rendezvous.

Since the early 1990s till to date, poor Khan's pathetically centralized TI party hasn't budged an inch ahead of square one.  Even after almost two decades, here's how the fantasy goes ---- Pakistan was a country at the brink of a disaster. There was no one competent enough to save her. Then came the great Khan like an angel of justice to rescue  the drowning Ark.  Was the goal of this 'angel of justice' to become the head of the state? Does that insinuate he is unable to bring any improvements unless he becomes head of the state? Perhaps yes, to some extent .. but only to an extent. Reforms and justice aren't simply introduced thru the force of power. But the much greater part of that spreads through ideologies.

Unfortunately for the 'angel of justice' he has little support to become head of the state. Not in the near future. Perhaps never in his lifetime. But that shouldn't deter him from continuing his quest for 'justice' and I'm sure that's precisely what he claims. As I already said, introduction of new ideas in the minds of people by the wisdom of competent leaders is the secret of a social revolution, not power.   It's realised when they do their best to promote the ideology they truly believe in, based on the voice of their conscience. Thus, as an "idealist" nothing should really be a hurdle for Khan to speak up for justice. Khan needs to show strong support for his values on the streets. Has he walked the streets? Certainly he has. But in how many of those demos he organized did he demand justice directly for the people? I'm not talking about demos organized by paying money to students and villagers shouting slogans against the government. These are specifically for him not the people. There's a marked difference between the two.

As anyone would know, the social system in Pakistan has numerous drawbacks with many root causes for injustice .. two of the most deplorable of all being the prevalence of the feudal system and the situation of women.

Non-payment of agricultural tax in feudal Pakistan, a country that's 80% agricultural is solely responsible for crippling the country's economy and subsequently suffering of the middle-class and poor. Besides this, it has introduced slavery and child labor in the rural areas of the entire country. This is even more shameful than the standard poverty we see throughout the third world at large. What words has Khan uttered as yet inside and outside the Parliament to discontinue the feudal system and imposition of taxes on the rich for the benefit of the poor?   A lone supporter of Khan once stated that Khan (who's himself a feudal) has spoken on the importance of abolition of the feudal system in Pakistan in an interview in India.  But that's no good.  He needs to speak of this at the Parliament in Islamabad, not TV and radio interviews outside the country.  But ah! I forgot.  He's an idealist so he just speaks when there are no chances of it to be realised.  Abolishing feudalism is beyond the bounds of the Judiciary in Pakistan.  it has to be tackled at the Parliament with a majority bill.

I realise Khan has no support nor influence in the Parliament.  In 18 years all he's managed to acquire is one rickety seat only for himself.  But like I've stated earlier, its the intent that displays one's sincerity despite lack of support.  So, even if he has no backing, he does have a tongue in his mouth to speak about land reforms or simply the introduction of some revenue from the wealthy feudals.

The discriminatory culture toward women is just too rampant to describe. Some of the most shocking laws against women in Pakistan today are:
(1) Divorce rules that favor men entirely, in that, men are not obligated to give even a nickel to their divorced wives as compensation - a practice totally against the ethics and dictates of the Noble Quran.
(2) A glaringly anti-Quranic law where women are expected to pay the entire dowry instead of men taking up this obligation totally. It's led to the commercialization of the institution of marriage in the most deplorable ways and awful financial pressure on women and their families.
(3) Another strikingly un-Quranic law introduced by the clergy in the name of Sharia that prevails high & mighty in Pakistan is accusing women of adultery with a jail term who are actually suffering the trauma of rape or even gang rape.

Why hasn't the 'angel of justice' spoken a single word against any to the above mentioned injustices? When innocent women like Mukhtarmai, Shehzia Khaleed and Sonya Naz were raped and tortured by their attackers and Musharaf's government did little or nothing to help them .. rather increased their anxiety by not punishing the rapists and preventing these women from speaking to the press .. where was the 'angel of justice' who came sweeping into Pakistan's political arena? I realize he is not in a position to dispense justice. But he is in a position to speak up for it. When Asma Jehangir, with several of her colleagues of both genders, was out on the streets screaming for justice and fairplay, where was the 'angel of justice?' Perhaps busy making a deal with Musharaf at the time, so the cries for justice by these people took the back seat for him. Or perhaps it was simply Khan's well-known anti-feminism that made him disregard such injustice to women.

One may ask: Have the other leaders ever spoken at such times? Of course not. They made it clear long before Khan arrived in the picture that they're rogue leaders and not interested in delievering anything. Thus, we need to count on the person who stated he's different from the rest. Surely that ought to go beyond a little philanthropy of building a couple of hospitals and a college.

It's also hard not to observe that like his political colleagues, Khan has never talked in support of true & recognized deliverers of justice. None of them have spoken a word in support of Abdel Satar Edhi, an angelic soul in the true sense of the term who has earned unprecedented admiration and praise all around the world for his charitable spirit, generosity and dedication. Edhi has been harassed and hounded by all governments prior to Musharaf out of sheer jealousy of his impeccable reputation. Khan doesn't seem to mind their actions at all.

The only positive aspect that's proliferating in the Pakistani society is that the people have made it clear through unspoken words that their silence doesn't mean they're dumb. Much of that is reflected in the unusually low turnouts during polls and Khan's stagnated popularity along with his 'stalwart' colleagues.

The hypocrisy of demagogues is easier to read than they anticipate.

[persian_thinker]

Hmmmm, that last bit on this politician's "selective morals" was particularly informative and shameful too.