Even a typical political worker understands that the news like rumor published about Imran Khan’s life on a suspicious and non-reputable Afghan website could never be true; rather, it was an extremely clumsy attempt to spread a lie, which India also used for its own purposes. However, not all, but many members of the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) are lovers devoid of political consciousness, whose training foundations are built upon lies, hatred, baseless accusations, and rumor-mongering. Therefore, it is very easy to mislead and incite them in the name of Imran Khan, as they are always ready to burn to ashes to keep the fire of Imran Khan’s ego and arrogance ablaze.
However, for some time now, Imran Khan and those who earn wealth and fame in his name have started damaging the idol of the PTI through the excessive use of false propaganda. This idol would have been shattered long ago had governmental follies or manipulations not given this false got a new political life.
The provision of political oxygen to a non-political person like Imran Khan, who is confined within the boundaries of his own self for life, is either the sheer incompetence of intelligence agencies or their unwise strategy to maintain political stability, or perhaps part of a well-thought-out grand plan. Whatever the reason, these government employees have saved Imran Khan from political death and given him injections of power.
Solid evidence and countless examples of Imran Khan’s corruption, nepotism, misuse of authority, and unbelievable incompetence as Prime Minister exist. Yet, the cases against Imran were pursued in such a clumsy manner, and actions against PTI leaders and supporters were taken in such a way that they appeared to be acts of vengeance rather than enforcement of the law. Such mistakes were fully exploited by the PTI’s foreign-orchestrated propaganda campaign to portray Imran Khan as an innocent angel, while casting the military and the courts as devils. As a result of the incompetence of the Aristocrat officers and personnel of the intelligence agencies and other government institutions, the government and the military were deemed guilty, while Imran Khan emerged as pious and truthful.
A second justification for the treatment meted out to Imran Khan could be that if he is released, he will destroy the country’s peace and order through lies, hate propaganda, siege, arson, and violent protests. Consequently, political stability, which is essential for economic recovery, will not materialize due to Imran Khan’s non-political attitude and his negative and violent actions. Therefore, Imran Khan must be kept in jail until he assures them of becoming a mature and peaceful leader. But the question is Can Imran Khan’s nature be changed, and can his craving for power at any cost be extinguished? The answer to this question is no.
A third idea is that keeping Imran Khan politically alive might be part of a larger scheme. Among all Pakistani politicians, Imran Khan is the only person whose mindset and ideology align with the Pakistani military’s vision of Pakistan. Imran Khan’s hero is Field Marshal Ayub Khan; Imran Khan does not believe in parliamentary democracy or even democracy itself. He is an opponent of the 18th Amendment and advocates for a strong center and weak provinces. He uses religion for his politics. Imran Khan is a living embodiment of superstition, grave worship, and personality cults. He has no political ideology or principles.
Money and power are his weaknesses. Imran Khan is comfort-loving and avoids mental exertion. Concentrating on any mental task is very difficult for him. When he was the Prime Minister, he would come to the office by helicopter in the afternoon and return home by helicopter four hours later. He had left governance to General Faiz Hameed and his Principal Secretary. The generals could not find a better puppet than Imran Khan for ruling, one who not only shares the military mindset but is also popular among the masses because he is handsome and speaks very well.
The generals’ plan was actually ruined by Bushra Begum, who tried to take complete control of the national savior created by the military. Bushra Begum started running the affairs of the largest province, Punjab, through Farah Gogi and began selecting ministers and the bureaucracy by merely looking at pictures.
The generals’ second problem was Imran Khan’s hobbies. Abducting and having political opponents beaten up through the NAB Chairman, Barrister Shahzad Akbar, and Faiz Hameed; tossing the turbans of people through DG ISPR Asif Ghafoor, Shahbaz Gill, and his subordinates; and the simultaneous enjoyment of dealing with Murad Saeed and Ayla Malik in the same way were all creating problems for the generals.
Imran Khan had a frenzy to be in front of the cameras all the time and remain the Clock Tower of Lyallpur. Because of this, he began to consider himself greater than the generals. Consequently, it was decided to teach him a lesson, but in such a way that he remains politically alive and, if brought back as a frontman, he shows complete obedience and does not try to abandon dancing to the tune of the general’s stick to become a resident of a magical realm.
So far, it seems Imran Khan has learned his lesson, as he is still awaiting the generals’ grace and nod of approval and is more popular than before due to military favors. Therefore, if he is brought back, everything can be achieved that even many 27th and 28th amendments combined cannot accomplish.
It is possible that no such grand plan as described in the above lines exists and that the actions being taken are merely unwise attempts to get rid of the ghost of Imran Khan, which are actually increasing Imran Khan’s popularity among some people.
However, Imran Khan’s real test or punishment may begin if he joins Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari. The path after that will be either “Dear Compatriots” or some meaningful “Accord of the Right to Rule.”
