I remember in the 90’s the American Muslim Alliance NJ Chapter was invited to meet the relatively new politician Imran Khan at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan. I was with the top chapter leaders and knocked on the door. Imran Khan himself opened the door, and I was impressed by his simplicity and humble manners. Many of us had also met him in the 80’s at various fundraisers for the cancer hospital for the poor he was building in Pakistan. He was also known to have declined a hefty divorce settlement from his first wife, Jemima Goldsmith, a British Jewish heiress.
When he finally rose to power a mere 3.5 years ago with Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (which means Pakistani Justice Party), most of us Pakistani-Americans celebrated and breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, the 30-year reign of corruption would end! Like Braveheart, the Scottish hero who valiantly fought the British in the 13th century until his defeat, Imran Khan fought bravely against corruption, foreign control and interference, and spoke passionately for oppressed Muslim nations at the UN speeches and the recent Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) meeting in Pakistan. In fact, my dearest father Mohammed Farooq was a proud organizer for the first meeting of OIC in Pakistan as a member of the Pakistan Foreign Office.
He openly spoke against drone attacks that were killing mindlessly, 50 kids in a mosque, a wedding here, a funeral there, a grandmother picking in the fields. The grandkids were invited by NGOs and addressed an empty US Congress. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/10/30/pakistan-drone-victims-give-evidence-in-us/
He asked Western banks to help retrieve funds stored by corrupt leaders. He did not want American bases, as Pakistan wanted to be neutral in superpower politics. Already it had suffered so much despite being a strong ally of the West in the War on Terror; a mere 2 years later Pakistan had to face US sanctions. I have always been proud of Pakistanis who, despite being a poor country, welcomed over 3 million Afghani refugees from the 40 years of occupation, first by Russia, then by USA and its allies.
Sadly, his opposition succeeded to put up a no-confidence vote in Parliament, which unfortunately the Supreme Court upheld. Behind the scenes, Western pressure and influence had been at work for months to unseat a democratically elected government, which is upsetting, ironic and hypocritical. As one of my friends, said “oh he is a bad guy as he didn’t support Ukraine”, not knowing the dark backstory of broken agreements and power plays, which leaves Pakistan no choice but to be neutral and seek help elsewhere.
I feel glad that Imran Khan was a truth teller and bravely rallied the country, especially the youth which is 60% of the population. He is a leader with integrity and faith yet facing an uphill battle. I feel sad yet realistic that he had to abandon his brave campaign. I just pray that the movement he has started of self-reliance, of justice and truth telling in the post-colonial world will continue to echo and inspire others to lead Pakistan and other developing nations to better times. One of my friends has an email signature that says “Stamp money out of politics”; this is an ideal that we all hope for not just domestically but throughout the world.
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