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

How Hindutva and the Taliban mirror each other in power and ideology

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The recent visit of Taliban-appointed Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to India and the warm reception extended to him by the Modi government have raised questions about India’s foreign policy direction. The decision appears to lend legitimacy to the Taliban regime, which continues to suppress democratic aspirations in Afghanistan. 

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...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu.  He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

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...

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 ...

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Caste, employment, and Bihar elections: The tragedy of Musahar child labourers

​By Sunil Kumar*  ​ Bihar 's biggest festival of 'democracy'—the elections—has begun with its full clamor. The announcements from both the ruling party and the opposition create the illusion that the state's suffering will vanish in an instant, and the lives of the people of Bihar will be greatly enriched. As in every election, this time too, caste and employment are emerging as key issues. Every party is unrolling its bundle of promises. But amidst this electoral noise, there are stories that are deliberately kept 'quiet'—because both the ruling party and the opposition benefit from their silence. One such story is the death of four Musahar children.

Creative destruction? The myth of ‘better capitalism’ behind the 2025 Economics Nobel

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak *  The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2025 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to Joel Mokyr , Philippe Aghion , and Peter Howitt “for having explained innovation-driven economic growth .” According to the Nobel announcement on October 13 , one half of the prize goes to Professor Joel Mokyr “for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress ,” while the other half is shared by Professors Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction .”