Making A Difference

The Birth Of The Third Force

Imran faces a tough battle as he joins the race for prime minister

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The Birth Of The Third Force
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BACK from London after the birth of son Sulaiman Isa, cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan says he is ready for the next big step in his life: the prime ministership of Pakistan. Soon after Benazir Bhutto’s government was sacked and fresh elections announced in Pakistan, Imran decided to join the race. And take on Benazir on the issues that had brought her downfall—corruption, misrule, economic mismanagement and lawlessness.

Big promises. For Imran’s party, Tehrik-e-Insaaf, was founded barely six months ago. But ever the optimist, Imran says his greatest hope comes from the people: "I have a great chance of becoming prime minister—the reason being that the entire country wants a change." In a cricket-crazy nation, Imran is the ultimate hero, the superstar who captained the national team to World Cup glory in 1992. Crowds mill around him wherever he goes and the poor remember him as the tireless fund-raiser who built a state-of-the-art cancer hospital in memory of his mother.

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Imran’s fan force believes he will rescue Pakistan from anarchy if he becomes prime minister. Only, they are not a major force to reckon with. Says Imtiaz Alam, a political analyst: "the fans love Imran, the cricketer, and not Imran, the politician." His party’s chief organiser in Punjab, Hafeez Khan, agrees Imran’s popularity is "at its peak in rural areas". But his fledgling party may not have the time to cash in on the rural support simply because it is impossible to campaign in all the villages. Imran has been concentrating on upper Punjab and the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP). In central and southern Punjab, Baluchistan and Sindh, his party’s presence is negligible.

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Emerging from a meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Meraj Khalid on November 20, he announced that he would himself contest four seats, one from each province. Ideally, Imran would have liked a couple of years more to prepare for elections. He had to hurry to register his party and pick a select 12-member Central Committee to plan campaign strategy.

Most of his party leaders are lawyers, engineers, journalists, doctors, consultants and academics. He also has on his side the popular local rock group, Junoon, which belted out Hai Jazba Junoon to himmat na haar to cheer Pakistan’s cricket team during the recent World Cup—a major factor in attracting youngsters.

Imran has dreamed of this moment for years and says is ready for the rough and tumble of the impending campaign. After his mother’s death, he crisscrossed Pakistan, collecting $9 million in donations for the hospital. "It was going into the villages and small towns for the hospital that made me think about politics," he says. "Ordinary people handed out their 10 rupee donations and kept telling me, ‘You have to save us from these criminals’." By "criminals", he says, they mean the whole breed of politicians, whose feudal style of functioning have rarely benefited citizens.

Aziz Siddiqui, veteran journalist and a Human Rights Commission of Pakistan offi-cial, says the rural vote is not enough: "The reason that the need for a third political force has not been met yet is that no candidate has gone beyond making sweeping blanket criticisms. That includes Imran. He has not grown out of being a cavalier. He is provoked by the sinners, not their sins." No one questions Imran’s honesty. But politics is a different ball game and no one knows it better than Imran that it will be quite a task to cull a majority. "Tehrik-e-Insaaf wants to build a new Pakistan and wants you (the people) to help lay the foundations of a new order. Free yourself and your countrymen from feudalism, VIP culture and exploitation," exhorts an advertisement in a daily, seeking bio-datas from those willing to contest.

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SAYS Hafeez Khan: "We present an alternative, people who are clean, who are professionals. Those who are not professional politicians, but professionals who excel in their own trade. That’s a better alternative in Pakistan—for the first time the people will have a choice." But most voters have never heard of any of these professionals. Imran is the only leader with a national bearing, and will have to spearhead the campaign to ensure that his party is noticed at the hustings.

Imran apart, the party’s biggest hope is that President Leghari’s clean-up drive won’t stop with Benazir and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari. Many Pakistanis say there’s not much point in ousting the prime minister if the graft-ridden system is not rejuvenated. The interim government has promulgated an ordinance, making it easier for private citizens to initiate investigation against most high-ranking corrupt offi-cials. "The government is going to target a group of leading politicians, including Benazir, Zardari and (opposition leader) Nawaz Sharif," predicts Najam Sethi, editor of The Friday Times, a political weekly. "If enough veteran politicians face formal charges," Sethi adds, "Imran becomes a horse you would want to have a bet on".

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 Imran’s chances can brighten only if the Pakistani establishment thinks he is a reliable horse to bet on. In 1990, it had helped cobble together a coalition to defeat Benazir and elect Sharif as prime minister; it can do something similar now. But the brains behind the 1990 manipulation, then Inter Services Intelligence chief Hamid Gul, is now in the wilderness. Imran hobnobbed with him for sometime, but soon abandoned him, perhaps because of his right-wing ideas. It will be interesting to see if Imran chooses to go it alone in the polls.

Pervez Hasan, who was in charge of the party in Imran’s 12-day absence, has asked the caretaker government to take adequate measures so that elections are held on schedule. Advises Hussain Naqi, a veteran journalist: "The more Imran distances his movement from ambitious fanatics and power-hungry individuals and votaries of populism, the better it would be." Hasan says the Tehrik will not ally with anyone, including the fundamentalist Jamaat-i-Islami, and the Pakistan Muslim League led by Nawaz Sharif. "We will field our own candidates for all seats of the national and provincial assemblies. We support the joint electoral system."

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BUT how will Imran get the 125 seats required to become prime minister? And find candidates for the national and provincial assemblies? The national assembly has 199 seats (excluding federally administrated tribal areas and minorities), the Punjab assembly 240, Sindh 100, NWFP 80 and Baluchistan 40. This means the Tehrik has to field 659 candidates. "Sharif and Benazir have been in politics for sometime. They have a clout that can win them and their candidates the seats. But Imran is a new entrant who can win himself a slot. But his men can’t depend on his charisma alone," says Imtiaz Alam.

In the absence of a concrete political agenda, Imran can only hope to win on the basis of their reputation as a fresh brigade with fresh ideas. A coalition with any other party would just make them another bunch of people out to grab power.

But this is just the beginning. It would be unrealistic to believe that a year after entering politics, Imran can emerge as a major political force. If the Tehrik can field candidates in most constituencies, and they fare well, it would prove he has support and provide him a base to build on in future.

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Both Sharif and Benazir write him off as a political non-entity. But nothing is impossible in Pakistan. Imran may breeze into power—like Moeen Qureshi, interim prime minister in 1993. The army and bureaucracy are chock-a-block with Khans; the family gave Pakistan two cricket captains, including the new pretender to the throne; and a relation is Leghari’s head of security.

One of Tehrik’s advertisement campaigns silhouettes Imran and six fists in the backdrop with the caption: "We urge patriotic Pakistanis to step forward and elect a clean leadership." Lavishly splashed across major newspapers, it only prompted a detractor to quip: "This symbolises how much backing Imran enjoys—only six fists." 

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