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The messiah finally comes?
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Visits
282
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Visits
282
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Visits
282
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November 04, 2011
Pakistan’s political atmosphere has charged up once again apparently setting the stage for yet another round of musical chairs. Though the PML-N staged a mammoth public rally in Lahore to show its public support and standing, ironically it gave the impression that it may not be a federation party. Under such circumstances, the real street power of the PML-N is hard to quantify whereby the whole government machinery might have been set to make the rally a success. On the contrary, the massive show of power by Imran Khan at Minar-e-Pakistan on 30th October was both a warning to the rulers and an alarm to the system and the political status quo. But more than that, it was the show of a real federation party because it included people from every province. It reflected the public sentiment, a reaction to a system based on exploitation, injustice and cruelty.
In today’s Pakistan, the two main political parties — PML-N and PPP — have slowly shrunk to two provinces, i.e. Punjab and Sindh respectively. It can be said that these two parties have adopted the politics of regionalism and provincialism based on the Punjab and sindh card respectively. The PPP has joined hands with nationalist parties like the MQM and ANP which believe in the politics of regionalism, tribal nationalism and ethnicity. They have rather psychological barriers to have mental openness to accept the blessings of an ideological federating state. The PPP just did not shake hands with the sindhi nationalists so that she can use the Sindh card as a tool to blackmail in the hour of necessity. Practically, the PPP has lost the essence of being a real federation party and has become a regional-cum-nationalist party. Same is true for the PML-N, which has become a regional party, practically considered to be a party of Punjab.
Ironically, the PML-N leadership has been grabbed by the psychological dilemma of this reality and did nothing short of doing a deal with the PPP to preserve its government in the Punjab province. Let alone the strategic and international policies of the country. For PML N, it appears that the province of Punjab takes precedence over the national issues. And same is true for the PPP. So all the four provinces of Pakistan are practically governed by regional parties, with two former federation parties losing their national status apace. This state of affairs is a threat to the integrity of Pakistan and seems part of some international plot to balkanize Pakistan.
Out of this gloomy picture emerges Imran Khan who announced civil disobedience and urban standoff if the two governing parties and the political elite do not declare their true accounts and wealth. The huge gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan was a practical vote of no-confidence against the corrupt ruling elite of Pakistan and a public fury against the devastating polices of the rulers. It can be safely said that a real PTI was born on 30th October and its gigantic procession was only comparable to the Resolution of Pakistan gathering of 1940 and he 1970 mammoth public meetings and procession led by PPP founder and former prime minister ZA Bhutto.
Imran Khan’s 30th October show was the greatest during the last three decades and it was different in several ways as people from all parts of the country attended it in a disciplined way. They were highly responsive to the foreign policy and economic and strategic issues of Pakistan, which were presented by Khan during his elaborate address focused on issues and the hardships facing Pakistan and its people. It was not a show of hard rhetoric as observed in the public meetings of almost all political parties. Imran has came out as the only national leader who has organized huge public meetings in almost every province of Pakistan, including the capital Islamabad. His successful procession in Islamabad reflects the public mood thanks to the colonical policy of the rulers and the callousness of a nasty system.
Imran Khan’s address was a composite manifesto of PTI in which he announced the main points of his foreign policy and internal policy, a charter of freedom from the chains of imperial slavery of the United Staes and a pronounced inclination towards China. He also vowed to restore the national pride of Pakistanis and international reverence for the Pakistani passport. It can be easily said that Imran’s every word reflected the deepest wishes and aspirations of Pakistanis. Inside the sparkling eyes of Imran Khan could be seen a real and bright future of Pakistan.
The winds of change have started coursing through the length and breadth of the country. This is bad news for the forces of status quo and their international partners bent on devastating Pakistan, but from the ashes of their own doom, the dawn of a free and prosperous Pakistan can be seen under the leadership of Imran Khan. Imran is in fact an agent of change and hope as perceived by an ordinary Pakistani.
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