Imran Khan: Better A ‘Bad Democrat’

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[And] there hasn't been a planned strategy. The U.S. occasionally puts pressure on Musharraf and he does something, but it's all window dressing, token stuff. Bush arrives in Pakistan; they kill 145 people in Waziristan and say, "We've just demolished terrorism." But the casualties the Army is taking are unsustainable. It is going to refuse to continue.

What approach would work, then?
The Pashtun tribes have turned against the Army, not for religious reasons but out of revenge for casualties inflicted. As a result, there is chaos. Everyone is petrified. If anyone is thought to be pro-government, the Taliban come after them. If you are supposed to be a terrorist, the [security services] go after you. But eventually they will have to start a political process. It is the only option.

But this area is seen as the locus of global terror. What should the West do? Nothing?
I've heard talk about the Americans' going in there. Do they understand that they're talking about a million armed men in the tribal agencies? It would make Iraq look like child's play. You only have to look at history. The tribes only unite when foreigners come in. The tribes united against the Mughals, the Brits, the Sikhs, the Russians. All the Americans have to do is come in, and this whole area is going to go up in flames.

So what do you advocate?
Look, it's a mess. It was a mistake to turn the Taliban against you. They were just illiterate religious beggars. Those people, the more you kill them, the more they're going to come after you. Now you have to separate the Pashtuns from Al Qaeda and start negotiations. It will be a slow process, but they are very good at negotiation. That's the route to go.

But how do you persuade Pashtuns to allow the United States to go after Al Qaeda?
Pay them. For a fraction of the money spent on the war, they might have delivered Osama bin Laden. A little bit of money would have given them a stake in peace.

How do you start the process now?
You [must] have credible brokers. Musharraf is now attracting terrorists. The fundamentalists are targeting him. The Pashtuns are targeting him. So you need to have free and fair elections to set up a genuine elected government that can negotiate.

Do you see a figure emerging from elections who could hold the country together?
My contention, after watching the mess Musharraf has made, is that even a bad democrat would be better than a military man. Army men are not equipped to deal with the world. They are used to giving and taking orders, no debate. They have always made a mess of the country. Whatever emerges from democracy—it'll be messy, I'm not saying we'll have utopia—but we'll be going in the right direction.

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Details of the intriguing secret US plans have started appearing in its media and it has been disclosed that, a new US sponsored political leadership is in the making again in Pakistan, to replace the existing one but in all probabilities,this time it will be different in concept. It is being expected that, Washington will push for a more compliant and subservient political leadership, with no commitments to the local national interests. It will be a leadership that will serve to the best satisfaction in serving all interests of the US, including material interests, without much raised eyebrows. Presently employed indirect rule by the Pakistani military and intelligence apparatus is to be replaced with more direct type of US interference, including an expanded US military presence within Pakistan. This would start more aggressive initiatives of Washington's ongoing plans to extend the Middle East war to a much bigger and wider area.

According to a recent analysis by the US media watch-dogs, special forces are working to expand the US presence in Pakistan, apparently to train and support indigenous counter-insurgency and clandestine counter-terrorism units. But, basic requirement to justify any such program beyond doubts is, to beef-up its covert "support to the terrorists", the essential requirement for the program, because the extended terror, no war against terror can be accelerated. This is part of the strategy, main target of which is, to create circumstances leading to a Yugoslavia type break-up of the country riven by civil war, bloodshed and inter-provincial rivalries, by about 2015.

Simplest tool of achieving such objectives is in employing "Chaos creating World Bank-IMF prescriptions", which are well known to the down trodden world. Situations are engineered which invariably trigger hyperinflation and precipitate indebted countries into extreme poverty. Then the IMF's "debt reduction" procedures are introduced under wonder drug treatment packages, essential part of which is always in sell-off to foreign capital of the most profitable State owned enterprises, at rock-bottom prices. These covert operation, are generally part of the military coups, synchronized with the imposition of IMF-World Bank macro-economic reforms introduced as emergency treatment initiatives under SOS.

Imran Khan is a sportsman at heart and considers everything a fair-play even in politics. He needs to change his thinking and transform his inbuilt nature. An almost impossible proposition. Unless he starts realizing the real odds, he cannot even begin to stand, not to speaking of treading and galloping in political fields..

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Posted By: tayyabmail @ 02/15/2008 11:39:15 AM

I would like to thank newsweek for covering Imran Khan and providing a voice to the alternative opinion from Pakistan...which is gaining momentum in the country. Imran khan remains a leading light and a hope for pakistans future.

Also, US will benefit more by supporting democracy in Pakistan. Democratic country can nerver support terrorism. It is the cure for extremism.

Cheers
tayyab
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Posted By: Abbasi67 @ 02/06/2008 1:58:01 PM

Imran is the most sincere, honest and patriotic politician Pakistan has at this hour.
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Posted By: Houlbelat @ 02/05/2008 3:11:15 PM

Details of the intriguing secret US plans have started appearing in its media and it has been disclosed that, a new US sponsored political leadership is in the making again in Pakistan, to replace the existing one but in all probabilities,this time it will be different in concept. It is being expected that, Washington will push for a more compliant and subservient political leadership, with no commitments to the local national interests. It will be a leadership that will serve to the best satisfaction in serving all interests of the US, including material interests, without much raised eyebrows. Presently employed indirect rule by the Pakistani military and intelligence apparatus is to be replaced with more direct type of US interference, including an expanded US military presence within Pakistan. This would start more aggressive initiatives of Washington's ongoing plans to extend the Middle East war to a much bigger and wider area.

According to a recent analysis by the US media watch-dogs, special forces are working to expand the US presence in Pakistan, apparently to train and support indigenous counter-insurgency and clandestine counter-terrorism units. But, basic requirement to justify any such program beyond doubts is, to beef-up its covert "support to the terrorists", the essential requirement for the program, because the extended terror, no war against terror can be accelerated. This is part of the strategy, main target of which is, to create circumstances leading to a Yugoslavia type break-up of the country riven by civil war, bloodshed and inter-provincial rivalries, by about 2015.

Simplest tool of achieving such objectives is in employing "Chaos creating World Bank-IMF prescriptions", which are well known to the down trodden world. Situations are engineered which invariably trigger hyperinflation and precipitate indebted countries into extreme poverty. Then the IMF's "debt reduction" procedures are introduced under wonder drug treatment packages, essential part of which is always in sell-off to foreign capital of the most profitable State owned enterprises, at rock-bottom prices. These covert operation, are generally part of the military coups, synchronized with the imposition of IMF-World Bank macro-economic reforms introduced as emergency treatment initiatives under SOS.

Imran Khan is a sportsman at heart and considers everything a fair-play even in politics. He needs to change his thinking and transform his inbuilt nature. An almost impossible proposition. Unless he starts realizing the real odds, he cannot even begin to stand, not to speaking of treading and galloping in political fields..