Imran Khan: the phoenix rises

If Pakistan was featured in the Marvel Universe as a dystopian country ensnared in a web of corruption and deceit, you can count on Imran Khan casting himself in the role of the Messiah. When Batman says, “I am Vengeance,” one can almost see Khan applauding. Because this has been his mission ever since he won the elections in 2018.

With the heat, the prices and the dollar skyrocketing and foreign investment nosediving and setting teeth on edge, the drummer’s beat in the political arena is rising to a crescendo. Surprisingly, despite the verdict of the Supreme Court and an uncertain future, Imran Khan still has his passionate supporters who wear their hearts on their sleeves.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Khan made ample use of a diplomatic cable in which a senior American official was reported to have castigated Pakistan for not condemning Russia for the Ukraine war, distancing itself from the U.S and its allies as well as the visit to Russia. At his massive political rallies, Khan excoriated Western diplomats for writing a letter asking Pakistan to support the West against Russia. “Are we your slaves that we will do as you tell us?” he thundered. His Foreign Minister dropped coy hints about Western conspiracies muddying the pitch. These populist tactics have fired up their support base like a Harley Davidson in a motorbike race.

A street cricketer in Baldia shouts, “Why do we have to be allies only of the West? Why can’t we be friends with Russia? Imran has become a phenomenon! Even if Ali baba and forty thieves remove him through their dirty games, we will bring him back.”

Ironically, the Opposition’s show of amity may have rejuvenated Khan’s image and given him the new avatar that he sorely needed. The same double-digit inflation that was earning Khan brickbats has suddenly paled in comparison to the prospect of ‘the three stooges’ according to the Prime Minister, taking over the reins of the country. The general consensus is a growing feeling of dread at the return of these politicians. “What good can we expect from these dacoits?” a woman asks in despair.

On the other hand, a maintenance staff supervisor at a multinational in Karachi says, “We want Imran to go. How can one run a household? Look at the price of cooking oil! We are all trying to do two, three jobs to survive.”

No one can say that they were not warned when Khan had warned that peace of mind is only to be found in the grave. A beautician at a rundown parlour in Nazimabad says calmly, “Why are people so angry? Imran has done what he had said he will do. Didn’t he say he will make everyone equal? Today a rich man and a poor man are both standing at the same place. Both of them are reeling under inflation. He is a man of his word.”

Despite their pledge not to align with the usual suspects, PTI did exactly that while forming their government. That has irked many fans like the dhol wala (drummer) at the Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine in Clifton who chimes in: “Imran’s biggest mistake was to surround himself with incompetent people. If you put me in charge of flying a plane, how will I manage? It will be trial and error, right?”

Many people cast their votes for PTI despite not having any ideological alignment, because of their hatred for the opposition. A meme on social media states: “There is no circumstance in life so awful as to require Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman as a solution.”

Some of those who voted for PTI admit to the mistakes made by the government, but there is frustration at the unwillingness to learn. A doctor who voted for PTI says, “Imran should not have taken on these fights. Why doesn’t he take a leaf out of the book of Turkish president Erdogan? First make the country strong, then you take a stand!”

A student studying at a public university in Gulshan vents, “Imran should not have had these meltdowns on national television, threatening dissident MNAs saying that you won’t be able to go to weddings, no one will want to marry your children, they will be bullied in schools, and no one will forgive you. Then he begs them to come back to the party, because he is like their father, and he will forgive them!”

There are those who are more forgiving. A trader in Saddar cautions, “He has sensed that he is about to be thrown out. That’s why he has thrown caution to the winds.”

Despite the growing realisation that fortune is not favouring Imran Khan, there is no denying that he is riding the crest of popularity in the court of public opinion. No matter how much the Opposition might want to delete him from the public mind, he is far from a spent force and will continue to be a thorn in their side.

Be that as it may, it is time to call a halt to the coarsening of the political discourse which has wreaked havoc on Pakistan’s social fabric. As a student of history, Imran Khan needs to learn from the examples of great leaders like Hazrat Ali who said, “The tongue is like a lion. If you let it loose, it will wound someone.”

Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius says of leadership, “A real man doesn’t give way to anger and discontent.. he has strength, courage, and endurance — unlike the angry and complaining. The nearer a man comes to a calm mind, the closer he is to strength.”

After seeking revenge during his latest film, Batman has a revelation: “Vengeance won’t change the past, I have to become more. People need hope.”

Imran Khan has the opportunity to become more, but will he?

The writer is Oped Editor, Bol News