NP Upadhyaya: Much to the discomfort of the Indian establishment, the Pakistani people have this time elected a strong nationalist as their new Prime Minister.
Cricketer turned political personality, Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (65) has joined the club of the global rulers, as the News national daily claims, who have studied in the Oxford University in the past. Mr. Khan is the Chairman of the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
The newly elected ruler of Pakistan is an Oxonian, the Daily News reports. The first Prime Minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan too was the student of Oxford. Later Ms. Benazir Bhutto also graduated from Oxford.
India has abundant reasons to vilify the emergence of Imran Khan as the person whom India preferred excessively has recently landed in Pakistani jail for having committed several fraudulent acts against the State. Miyan Nawaz had a clear India tilt that came to the fore in the recent months.
So the campaign has already begun in India to damage the political credentials of Prime Minister in waiting Mr. Imran Khan by accusing him of being close to the Military paraphernalia. India considers that any ruler in Pakistan could be damaged easily if he or she is projected as a man of the military.
Miyan Nawaj Sharif whom India considers as its marionette, writes C. Christine Fair for Foreign Affairs, July 27, 2018, that “During his first term as Prime Minister in the late 1990s, Sharif was a pliant stooge of the army, but he grew more independent during his second term in the late 1990s, even mustering the audacity to sack an army chief in 1998”.
So says Dr. Anil Sigdel, an International Relations expert based in Washington while talking to telegraphnepal.com that Sharif too used to be a man of the Pak Army in the beginning.
This perhaps should clear any confusion that may have in the minds of the Delhi wallahs as regards Miyan Nawaj Sharif whose India connections needs now no more elaborations. Miyan has landed in Jail for ten years.
Why it is that Nepal PM Oli who is hundred percent India trusted man but yet the Indian media takes him as a political man comfortably close to Beijing-the arch rival of Delhi remains yet a mystery. Is it that by dubbing him as a Bejing man in a repeated manner, India wishes to irritate Oli to finally join the Indian lobby openly out of frustration? Could be an Indian ploy.
Oli is in effect closer to the Indian establishment frankly speaking. Beijing is under illusion.
But who will dare to convince China about Oli’s temporarily fake credentials?
India’s Modified media has been saying that Imran Khan got elected only when the all-powerful Pakistan Army backed him. Rajdeep Sardesai is among the crowd of many Indian perverted media men who appear to have taken the election of Imran Khan as the new Pakistani Prime Minister as their personal loss. Sudhir Choudhary is yet to begin his tirade. So be it. Brahma Chellany has already exploded as if the Pak population should have voted him to power across the border? Sweta and Sarika are yet to join the hate Pakistan club in the Modified TV channels.
After the parliamentary elections in Nepal, the same crowd of the Indian media lamented when the Nepali Congress saw a devastating election debacle which facilitated the elevation of the Communists to power and later to inch closer to China by default.
Primarily, India pushed Nepal to join the China founded club-the BRI and is now all set for NCEC-the Nepal-China Economic Corridor. Bollywood films are still popular among the Nepali youths but the Pak tele drama serials too have strongly made a place in Nepali hearts of late.
Or else Nepali leaders are Indo-pendent ones generally speaking who prefer to work in favor of the Indian regime caring little of their own national interests. This stands proven.
So what is wrong in garnering the support, if at all any in this case, from a nationalist establishment and that too a strong one? Imram would have done wrong had he sought the US Army’s help at time of the election. Is it that Mr. Khan should have asked for support from India’s RAW at time of the election in order to get “Certification of Merit from Delhi” instead of receiving the same from its own home grown nationalist institution? Unfair that it would have been so had he looked outside the borders of his motherland.
The emergence of Imran Khan in Pakistan bodes well for the entire regional politics in that his elevation to power will send a subtle message across South Asian landmass that the development of a nation completely depends on a nationalist political persona but not on a person who cheats his nation of birth for some material gains. Nepal is a classic case. Perhaps elated by Imran’s elevation in power, veteran Bollywood actor, Rishi Kapoor has recently in a twit has said, “Well-spoken Imran Khan.
I have been saying whatever you said on all the TV channels for the past two days regarding India-Pakistan. I hope you succeed in making your “Mulk” have good relations with my “Mulk”, so describes Khaleej Times dated 27 July of the Kapoor twit.
The message is that some Indian nationals hope that Imran Khan shall make bring India-Pakistan closer. Former Indian famous cricketer Kapil Dev too spoke very nice of Imran Khan. Mr Sudhendra Kulkarni is an Indian national who has vowed to bring the two brotherly countries together.
And here is NavJot Singh Siddhu, a former Cricketer turned Indian politician who says of Imran Khan that Khan is a man who has a charisma in his personality and that he is a man full of determination. Siddhu made several positive comments on the new Pak leader and hoped that Khan would work for normalizing the tensed India-Pakistan relations.
Siddhu recalled that under the captain ship of Imran Khan, Pakistan lifted the world Cup for his country long time back.
Captain’s sixer on first ball after elections, Imran Khan won a lot of hearts with his victory speech. Appreciations in national and international media continues.
In a nationally televised speech, the PM in waiting said the following:
- All policies for ordinary citizens
- Safeguard tax revenue
- Decrease government expenses
- Strengthen institutions
- Better ties with China, Afghanistan, and Iran. US and India
- Accountability for all
- Increase youth employment
- Help farmers, business community
- Spend money on development
The Oxford Graduate Imran Khan assured his countrymen by saying that, in his own words, (sic), and “So far we have seen that one who comes to power Changes. That will not happen with me”, so writes the Dawn Daily dated 26 July, 2018.
When grilled by the Indian media man, Rajdeep Sardesai, the former Army Chief General Pervez Musarraf said that “Imran is a man who believes in delivering to what he promises”.
The former Military ruler Musarraf rebuked the Indian interviewer who insisted that Imran was a planted man of the Pak Army. But Imran Khan has no regards for the former military ruler Pervez.
Similarly, noted security analyst Dr. Shireen Mazari while talking to the CNN TV said that the people have voted in favor of Imran Khan with a hope that he would bring prosperity to the people of Pakistan.
Dr. Mazari is a known friend of Nepal.
The CNN also talked concurrently with former Pakistani ambassador to US Husain Haqqani.
However, this former Pak envoy talked in a mysterious manner and gave an impression that he was speaking the “ordered” language of someone other than a national of Pakistan. He is not happy with the just held election results which brought the Cricket star Imran Khan as the executive ruler of Pakistan in a day or two. Okay. It is Pakistan’s problem not ours.
Dr. Mazari is likely to bag a ministerial slot in the federal cabinet soon. Talks are that she has exhibited her keen interest for the portfolio of the country’s Defence Minister.
During the televised speech the next PM of Pakistan said that he was saddened in the last few days, how the media in India portrayed him as a Bollywood film villain. It seemed like India feared everything bad would happen if Imran Khan came into power. I am the Pakistani who has the most familiarity with India, I have been all over that country”.
Pakistan and India’s leadership should sit at a table and try to fix the Kashmiri issue at the earliest, he said.
He told point blank that “If India’s leadership is ready, we are ready to improve ties with India. If you step forward one step, we will take two steps forward”.
As regards China, Imran Khan told his countrymen that Pakistan’s economic crisis is such that we need to have sound ties with all our immediate neighbors including China.
“China gives us a huge opportunity through CPEC, to use it and drive investment into Pakistan”, Khan lauded China.
The CPEC is sure now to advance with full speed during the tenure of PM Khan.
The Indian media distorted Khan’s mentioning of China in his speech and made a satire by taking it as “love for Dragon”.
He further said that “We want to learn from China how they brought 700 million people out of poverty …
The other thing we can learn from China is … the measures they have taken against corruption in their country”.
On Afghanistan, he said that this troubled nation needs permanent peace.
He however, did not talk of the SAARC regional body.
The chief observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission to Pakistan, Michael Gahler, said that apart from a few incidents of terrorism, the overall situation of the general election was quite satisfactory.
He said the army adhered to the code of conduct very strictly.
The parties have alleged vote rigging had taken place during Wednesday’s poll. The pain of defeat perhaps which we too had in our own elections when the NC came out as the loser number one.
That’s all.