Skip to main content

Why are BJP chief's "lackeys" crying wolf over Imran Khan's overtures of building bridges with India?

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*
Pakistan's election results have finally come. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i- Insaf Party (PTI) has won 115 seats in the 270 member national assembly, which means that party would need independent MNAs to come to power. The problems of PTI party are further aggravated with many candidates contesting more than one seat.
Imran Khan himself contested extraordinarily from five constituencies of Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Bannu and Mianwali and won all of them, which means he will have to resign from rest of the four seats. In the fragile political atmosphere it is difficult to win all of them again for someone else.
The elections this year was marred with violence and allegation of mass scale rigging. In fact, many in the Pakistan media have said that the Election Commission of Pakistan must resign for its gross failure in managing the elections efficiently. Widespread irregularities have been reported in the media, and the results came too slow. There was no coherent coordination, which is needed for run an election on such a large scale.
Imran Khan, the flamboyant captain of yesteryears, dreamt of leading his country long back. There was no doubt about his popularity in "Pakistan. He was the greatest leader of his country on the cricket field, whose quality was to inspire and encourage a whole lot of young superfast bowlers like Wasim Akram.
Imran Khan has already addressed media after PTI became the single largest party in the elections. He put India on priority number three, and talked about peace. Fair enough, he has to work in close coordination with the Pakistan establishment, which is the army. He can’t have an independent policy without getting well with the army chief. But to be fair to him, he did well to talk of peace.
Imran Khan can do what others could not. The reason for that is in his maturity as a leader and his understanding. Though to become popular, he had to turn 'right', which frankly speaking he never was, but then politics can force you to do all kind of juggles that you might not believe in person.
His third marriage was basically meant to address the religious sentiments of the people. The irony of politics is that social reforms and politics normally don't go together. With likes of Jamima and Rehams, Imran would not have got the support of the masses, who always considered him Anglican, but thanks God, he was not blamed a Zionist agent by the opponents when married to Jamima.
The results show that his party got huge mandate in the North West Frontier Province, a region, which is still run on rabid religious laws and practices.
It is surprising how the Indian lackeys of BJP chief Amit Shah are crying wolf over Imran Khan's overtures of building bridges with India. What is wrong when he says that he want to resolve all the issues? After all, he is going to the prime minister and must reflect his priorities. Should he say, he does not want to negotiate with a communal Hindu government in India?
Times Now made loud noises like 80,000 soldiers have been killed in conflict with Pakistan, and therefore we must not speak to them. Who cares if you don't speak Rahul Shiva Shankar or Arnab Goswami? If this government has put them to do this campaign, then it’s fine, they can carry on, which will ultimately fail the Government of India.
If the government is so determined to break everything with Pakistan then it must close the High Commission and ask the Pakistani High Commissioner to leave Delhi. It can’t do the all these nonsense. These anchors are being paid to destroy the serenity and atmosphere in the air right from Kashmir to South Asia.
The idiotic lumpens, as I would like to call them, have no understanding of geopolitical situation in South Asia. Pakistan is not begging to you as China has already reached everywhere right from Pakistan to Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives. The only option this Brahminical elite in India want is to surrender to Donald Trump, against whom Americans are themselves rising in protest.
A secular democratic Pakistan is in the best interest of India. Obviously, you can’t expect Imran Khan, the leader of his country, to please India’s sentiments. He will do it for his own country. The politics in our countries is based on rhetoric.
When Modi and Shah will use Pakistan as a bogey to divide the nation during the elections, we can think of the same in Pakistan, but the great thing is that all those fund collectors in the name of Jihad have been mercilessly defeated by Pakistan people. However, it also needs to be seen that they may not be out for ever neither we can say that all the politicians who have won have absolutely liberal outlook.
Imran Khan has to be given time. We all know that all the prime ministers in Pakistan will have to work together with the army. That is not new. Nawaz Sharif too was doing that. When he tried independently and became more powerful, Musharraf threw him away. That is the tragedy of that country.
Both in India and Pakistan, peace talks are only possible through non-political actors, who are not seeking 'blessings' of the people in elections where 'nationalism' and 'jingoism' of high decibel sale. It is these peaceniks, who are important both in India and Pakistan, who will ultimately protect us. To call all of them as anti-national by the dalals is dangerous, to say the least.
IThe leader of Indian nation must rise above the narrow confines and show magnanimity. If these dalals in the media paid by their Marwadi bosses want to set the agenda for next elections of creating the favorite Hindu-Muslim through an India-Pakistan binary, then India must defeat them. I hope India will.
The government formation process in Pakistan is their internal matter. It will be tedious, and Imran Khan’s skills will be tested, but I am sure, if he becomes leader of his country, he will have enormous good will and with his liberal outlook he can take bold decisions and initiatives for building up a long term stable relationship with India.
There is a reality too that Indian concern too need to be addressed particularly controlling those elements who can only spit venom against India at all the time, very much like our owns.

We stand with peace between India and Pakistan. It is important because if it happen then our defence expenditure will reduce and we will invest more in our anti-poverty programme. We can’t make the defence companies of cronies 'successful' by continuously chanting war mantras. War has never been decisive, it will only bring destruction and depression. Peace has greater dividend. It will bring prosperity and happiness everywhere. War-mongers are hate mongers and must be defeated at all level.
---
*Well-known human rights activist. Source: Author’s Facebook timeline 

Comments

TRENDING

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra*  The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat*  As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Pairing not with law but with perpetrators: Pavlovian response to lynchings in India

By Vikash Narain Rai* Lynch-law owes its name to James Lynch, the legendary Warden of Galway, Ireland, who tried, condemned and executed his own son in 1493 for defrauding and killing strangers. But, today, what kind of a person will justify the lynching for any reason whatsoever? Will perhaps resemble the proverbial ‘wrong man to meet at wrong road at night!’

Dowry over duty: How material greed shattered a seven-year bond

By Archana Kumar*  This account does not seek to expose names or tarnish identities. Its purpose is not to cast blame, but to articulate—with dignity—the silent suffering of a woman who lived her life anchored in love, trust, and duty, only to be ultimately abandoned.