Fakir S Ayazuddin
THE true success of Imran’s leadership is slowly emerging. The glitz and faux glamour of the government media is missing thankfully. The unvarnished truth of the persona shines through. Imran was so relaxed, looking completely confident and natural in the White House surroundings. After the official meeting Imran and Trump had a photo op with Melania the First Lady. A dramatic confirmation of the special international celebrities’ status that Imran enjoys even at the White House level, with the ultra glamorous First Lady of the US. There are a few world leaders who could share this space. Not only did Imran make us proud but all the Pakistanis Diaspora living in toiling in the US must have basked in the glory of warm glow of the meet.
It is not often that Pakistan receives such a high accolade. The negative press that we have suffered for so many decades, will now be a bad dream, hopefully to be forgotten and buried as an unsavory relic of the past. President Trump paid tributes to the people of Pakistan recognizing their hard-work and honesty. It is clear to all that the leadership for the last 3 decades was deeply flawed and the Pakistani nation suffered the consequences and is responsible for bringing Pakistan to its present sorry state. The endemic corruption hampered progress and had indeed become a way of life.
We Pakistanis should be blamed for allowing this mafia to take control of our land. From Bhutto onwards the institutions were bent and prevented from doing their jobs. Institutions are created and are essential to maintain the direction and to follow the constitution and the law of the land. The PPP/PML-N leaders chose to flout these laws making money illegally at every step. They succeeded because the institutions allowed them to do so having been themselves bent out of shape. No country can run without adherence to law. For 30 years Pakistan was ruled by these leaders all of whom expressed the ‘Born to Rule’ syndrome coupled with minimal education and flawed character due to which the country had to deteriorate.
Eventually Imran Khan has appeared, educated and principled. Under the new leadership, Imran hopefully will set the Pakistani nation on a corrected path and has the strength of character and will not allow any shady deals. And so the accountability is a given and the return of the looted money is a must. He has made that clear in his talks in the US and was roundly appreciated in Capital One Park. No longer need we be the convenient whipping boy for the West. India may have to recalibrate its hate speeches and show a smiley face when the subject of Pakistan comes up.
We are indeed neighbours, a geographic fact; we must learn to live as friends. It would be wonderful if this was adopted as an official Indian Policy. Pakistan will no doubt reaffirm the policy of cooperation put forward by PM Imran Khan, hopefully the Indians will reciprocate. This new policy can bring many benefits to both sides and other countries in the region. Imran Khan projected an air of positive confidence throughout the meeting and this was communicated to the US President who appreciated this. Compare this to the quizzical look given by President Obama to Nawaz Sharif, observing Nawaz, consulting his crib-sheet on his White House trip.
The strength of character of Imran, coupled with his charisma is a powerful instrument which is the reason behind his success. His good intentions are all part of the mix and guarantees his success in personal meetings. God has been very kind to bless us with Imran as a leader. His talk of merit is important, for it does show that merit was sadly lacking in all our previous leaders. We did witness a cinema ticket black marketer rise to become President after eliminating his wife and many others.
