Imran Khan's followers will never change!

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I've never understood how Imran Khan has so many followers who believe that only he can solve Pakistan's problems. They can't understand why the country hasn't collapsed in the two years that he's spent in jail so far, or how the Stock Exchange is performing so well. By now it should be clear to them that the djinns and other ethereal beings over whom his wife has control have failed and they should stop expecting them to get him released.

One of Imran's followers is the very able and learned lawyer Salman Akram Raja, who seemed a very sensible person until now. The other day he shocked every intelligent person in the country by saying that the heavy rains and floods afflicting the country nowadays is due to lack of what he termed "genuine" democracy. Of course, this was a refreshing change from what our clerics usually say about earthquakes and other natural disasters being cause by girls and women wearing jeans and sleeveless  dresses. But seriously, one wonders how he could have forgotten that in the only province his party has been governing for the past twelve years (KP), which is where "genuine" democracy exists, the floods have taken more lives and caused much more damage. He also forgot that during the disastrous four year rule of Imran Khan in the country, the rains and floods were even worse.

It seems that these people will never change.   

Imran Khan gets bail and the Stock Market crashes!

Pakistani businessmen and industrialists have always been scared that one day Imran Khan will get out of jail and the country will again see a repeat of his previous stint in power, which brought the country to the brink of default. So yesterday, when the apex court gave him bail in some of the cases against him, his supporters thought he had been acquitted. The stock market immediately lost 1,346 points and recovered only after the government announced that he has been convicted in other cases and will not be released soon.

I was also surprised when the army spokesman said that the army chief had not said anything about Imran Khan being pardoned if he apologized for the attacks on its institutions three years back. That corpulent analyst Sohail Warraich had reported a few days back about an interview he had with the chief, who was reported to have said that an apology would be necessary for the jailed politician's release. It turns out that the interview didn't happen. After he published the "interview", the analyst was roundly abused by Imran Khan's brainwashed followers, which was only to be expected. Unfortunately for them, they will have to wait (for ten years, I hope), before the cult leader gets out of jail.

Failure to get Imran Khan freed

A key difference

Published in DAWN on August 17, 2025

THIS is with reference to the editorial ‘Another attempt’ (Aug 6). The fact that there has been no popular movement to get the jailed opposition party leader freed despite two years of incarceration proves that the party and its leader are not as popular as they believe, or they want others to believe.

They fully expected that United States President Donald Trump would secure his release from prison. That did not happen. They spent millions on lobbying in order to persuade US Congressmen to do the bidding, but to no avail.

Recently, his two sons flew to the US for the same purpose, and returned without any result. They even spent a huge amount placing an advertisement in the New York Times, calling attention to the man’s ‘plight’ and appealing for his release. Where is all this money coming from?

Other Pakistani leaders, past and present, have been jailed for periods much longer than the former prime minister, but they did not go to any such length to secure their release.

And, this is despite the fact that the man has been jailed for corruption after an extended legal process on the basis of tangible evidence that was available against him. Perhaps the other political leaders who were jailed in the past did not have as much wealth as he surely has.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.dawn.com/news/1931427/a-key-difference

 

Muslim religious scholars are a breed apart

I've always known that Muslim religious scholars are out of touch with reality. In the 1980s a prominent Saudi cleric said that it's a heinous thing to say that the sun is stationary and the earth goes around it. Then there was another one who said that the earth is flat. Pakistanis of course are in a class by themselves. I've heard them say that earthquakes are caused by girls wearing jeans. One of them, a man very close to Imran Kan, declared that Covid happened in Pakistan because some of our women don't observe purdah. This guy (Tariq Jamil) amassed a huge fortune and reportedly settled in Canada.

Last week Islamabad was struck by heavy rains and hailstorms. Huge stones broke solar panels and windscreens of cars. Obviously it's due to climate change, but no, our mullahs say it's because our government has not done anything to protect Palestinians who are being subjected to a genocide by Israel. For God's sake, if this is true, why didn't the hail and rain strike Turkey and Dubai, where the governments have diplomatic relations with Israel?  

I've always believed that Muslims will never prosper if they don't acquire scientific knowledge through modern education. And what these "scholars" say proves it.

Imran Khan's stupidity knows no bounds

He's been incarcerated for only twenty months, with all facilities a man needs. In fact, he should be more comfortable in jail than in any of his houses, yet he wants to get out, despite having jailed some of his opponents for years. The man only has to apologize for asking his followers to burn and damage government property, yet he refuses to do so. In fact, he actually believes that he's so popular that the people would storm the jail and get him released.

In November 2024, a major donor to his party visited him in jail and asked him for permission negotiate with the powers that be to release him. He was so arrogant that he told the donor that on November 25 a million of his followers would seize Islamabad and force the government to resign, and he would return to power. Instead of a million, only a couple of thousand turned up, but despite that he  thinks he's still popular. I've asked some of his educated supporters why they like him so much, but the only answer I get is that he's honest (which is not true).

The never-ending battle between courts and legislators

If there is one thing we know for sure, it's that most of our parliamentarians are crooks. Even the few who are not financially corrupt (like some in the religious parties) tend to favor their friends and relatives when awarding contracts or giving jobs in government departments. Our legislators tend to think that parliament is supreme and that the courts have no right to object to any laws passed by them, even those that violate fundamental rights. The main tussle nowadays between the government and the judiciary is the transfer of judges from other courts to the Islamabad High Court, which has almost always favored Imran Khan when deciding cases against him. By appointing anti-Imran or pro-government judges, it hopes it can keep Imran Khan in jail for a long time.

Some judges, on the other hand, have been known to act against legislators without even considering the evidence against them. Nawaz Sharif, for instance, was disqualified for not receiving a salary from his son's company (in which he was a director). Everyone knew at the time that the judges were doing so under pressure from the army. And the same judges gave undue favors to Imran Khan and his cronies, when the latter was the blue-eyed boy of the establishment. But of course judges and legislators share the same DNA, which is why both are equally to blame.

Why are the EU & IMF suddenly concerned about human rights in Pakistan?

First it was the European Union which warned that Pakistani exports to the EU would no longer enjoy duty free status if human rights violations, child marriages, media curbs, etc were not ended. Now the IMF has sent a delegation to meet politicians, judges and others to determine whether there has been any improvement after their money started flowing. I'm against this government's policies, particularly the curbs on the media, but why do the EU and the IMF suddenly want to do it now?

Why didn't the EU say anything when the then Bangladesh government started executing pro-Pakistani politicians some years back? Is there something about Pakistan that they feel threatened by?

I can't help thinking that it is Imran Khan's blitzkrieg that's behind all this. He is so rich that he doesn't mind spending a few million here and there to get out of jail. Last week he got another US politician to ask Trump to get Imran released. One wonders how far the convicted leader will go to malign Pakistan.

190 million pound crime & Imran Khan's ministers

The enabler

Published in The News on January 21, 2025

Throughout the whole ‘190 million pound’ saga, one important point has been missed. Imran Khan’s cabinet ministers affixed their signatures on a sealed envelope without knowing what it was that they were agreeing to. Would they have signed a blank piece of paper on which anything could have been typed later?

Shouldn’t this worry every Pakistani? These men were in charge of running the country for four years and they did something that no normal person would ever have done. In my view, these ministers should also be tried for the offence.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi 

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1274319-the-enablers

Imran Khan was sure he'd be acquitted, so why was he convicted?

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Sometimes you can't help thinking that Imran Khan and all his cronies should be put in a mental asylum. One wonders how the army selected this psychopath to run the country. The latest proof of his stupidity is that after some of his minions spoke to the army chief, he was confident that he would be acquitted in the 190 million pound fraud case. Even the news channel ARY prematurely announced his acquittal, even before the judgement was announced.

I can guess what probably happened. Imran Khan's chosen party chairman (barrister Gohar)and his province's chief minister (the corpulent Gandapur) interacted briefly with the army chief during the meeting held with KP politicians to discuss the security situation in the province. Probably the underlings told the army chief that if he would get Imran Khan released, they would make sure that he remained army chief for another ten years, or they assured him that they'd make him president for life. Whatever they said, the army chief, being a man of few words, probably didn't react, so they thought he'd agreed. Imran Khan was jubilant, and even said that talks with the establishment were proceeding in the right direction. So he got a shock when he was convicted. Of course, he had to react immediately, so he sent out another tweet against the army and its chief. As I said, the man and his minions should be locked up.

Khan cannot be trusted

Fickle captain

Published in The News, January 8, 2025

This letter refers to the article ‘To see Mount Tai’ (January 6, 2025). The writer says "Khan has much to gain from engaging in dialogue". If only it were so simple.

The problem is that Khan, with his love for U-turns, simply cannot be trusted to stick to whatever agreement he makes. It’s not in his nature.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://e.thenews.com.pk/detail?id=374264

Sharif government unable to resist blackmail by Iman Khan

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If Pakistan had been like China or Saudi Arabia, Imran Khan would have been sentenced to death and buried last year. Unfortunately, this government is too weak to resist blackmail by Imran Khan, who has been doing everything he can to destabilize the country. When sixty seven activists of Imran Khan's party (PTI) were sentenced to prison terms up to ten years, I hoped that the PTI leader would see some sense and apologize for the mayhem and destruction he caused on May 9, 2023. But he only hardened his stance, principally due to the chaos in his home province, where Shias and Sunnis are fighting in Parachinar. In fact, he is responsible for that trouble, having settled the Taliban rebels in that area (which until then was inhabited by Shias). 

But the real shock came when nineteen of his party activists were pardoned and set free by the military. This made Imran Khan think he was right in being tough. Pardoning those who attacked the state will make the activists think they can do it again.

In the meantime, Imran Khan's supporters are firmly convinced that Trump is going to get him freed. Yesterday, after a long time, we were able to access Twitter (X) without using a VPN, and today the internet speed is the fastest I have ever seen. This will undoubtedly make Pakistan's enemies believe that the government is weakening and their agent (Imran Khan) will again take over the government. Let's hope it doesn't happen.

Civil disobedience call by Imran Khan

Self-sabotage

Published in The News on December 11, 2024

This letter refers to the news report ‘Civil disobedience to start with call to expats to choke remittances: Aleema’ (December 7, 2024). I remember that in 2014 Imran Khan also told his followers to stop remitting money to Pakistan through banks. If this order is implemented successfully, it will result in a great deal of inconvenience to his followers in Pakistan, as many of them are dependent on the money sent by their relatives for survival. There will be pressure to devalue the rupee, which will again affect his voters, as it will result in inflation. His party will become even more unpopular than it is today. Is this what Imran really wants?

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1260299-self-sabotage

Imran Khan's "Do or die" protest fizzles out

The "do or die" protest ended with a whimper just two days after the long march to Islamabad began. The blame for this will be laid squarely on Imran's third wife (Bushra) for not listening to party leaders, including Imran Khan, who also advised her to gather at Sangjani instead of D-chowk. Of course, none of this would have happened if Imran (a psychopath) had not married her. This woman is supposed to have advised Imran Khan over the past five years when he was the prime minister. It was due to her insistence that he appointed a man of her choice to run the largest province in the country. With her man in charge, she managed to loot the country and this ultimately resulted in Imran Khan's ouster. Yesterday, she and Ali Amin Gandapur (chief minister of KP) fled in one car after police began firing at the protestors, most of whom fled from the scene in panic, some of them even leaving their cars behind. Gandapur himself had claimed that he wouldn't leave even if bullets were fired at him. Now he has a lot of explaining to do to those whom he persuaded to join the march. He should be removed from the party immediately if there is any accountability in it.

There are many lessons to be learnt from this fiasco. The first is that  Imran's party is not as popular as it may have been before, and I'm firmly convinced that the recent elections were rigged so his party could rule in one province. His popularity is limited to the society begums and their husbands in some urban areas of the country as well as young Pathans in KP. With the ignominious retreat yesterday by Bushra and Gandapur, I doubt if his party can win elections in future. Now the government should step in, persuade disgruntled PTI members to resign and hold bye-elections. The party has been routed in recent local bodies elections, and I'm sure it will lose in bye-elections as well.

Donald Trump will do all this because he likes Imran Khan!

If wishes were horses

Published in Dawn on November 10, 2024

SOME of my friends are quite jubilant, convinced that within days President-elect Donald Trump will get all Adiala Jail prisoners freed. Then he will force the government in Islamabad to resign after admitting that the general elections were rigged. After that, Trump will gift a hundred billion dollars to Pakistan, which will result in massive tax cuts, leading to prices of all essential commodities going down all the way to the level of 1947. All this will happen because, as everyone knows, the president of the United States has nothing else to do.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Persuading 60 US lawmakers to free Imran Khan

Revealed priorities

Published in The News on Friday, Nov 08, 2024

Last month, some 60 US lawmakers were persuaded to ask US President Joe Biden to help in getting a convicted Pakistani politician released from jail. Those Pakistani Americans who helped facilitate this request should now spend the same amount of money and energy to persuade the same lawmakers to demand freedom for Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://e.thenews.com.pk/detail?id=357402

Will Trump get Imran Khan released?

I've always known that Imran Khan's followers have IQs that are lower than those of ten year old kids. These people actually believe that it was the US President Biden who got Imran Khan's government removed from power. Now they are confident that Trump will win the election four days from now, and one of the first things he'll do is to force Pakistan to free Imran Khan.

But I never expected a seasoned politician like Latif Khosa to be an idiot. With a smiling face, the man said that not only will Trump win but that he will call Nawaz Sharif immediately and order him to free his leader. Mind you, this man is a lawyer and former Punjab governor. He used to belong to the PPP, but for some reason defected to PTI.

In the first place, the US didn't get Imran Khan sacked, as he did everything to please the superpower. He stopped the CPEC projects, something which irked China. He was recorded calling the Saudi prince an idiot while on a Saudi plane , and the plane taking him to Pakistan was immediately grounded, after which he had to change flights. So it should have been China and the Saudis who wanted Imran Khan out. Another thing: US foreign policy does not radically change every time a new government takes over. So, even if the US got Imran Khan kicked out, why would the new government want him back?

It's mind-boggling, the stupidity of these lootias (Imran's followers). 

Why is the Stock market so bullish?

When the stock exchange had begun its upward spiral and the index had already soared to record levels, a PTI voter called me and asked, "Why are Memons so much against Imran Khan?" He said that even though inflation was rampant and nothing had happened to indicate that the country was progressing phenomenally, he couldn't understand why the share market was so optimistic, unless the Memons were manipulating it. I told him that Memons are not the only ones who trade in shares, but the reason (in my opinion) was political stability as there was every indication that Imran Khan would not be released. Every trader feared that in case he was let out of prison, he would do his best to create further chaos.

After the passage of the 26th Amendment, the market has gone crazy. The index, which was hovering between 84,000 and 85,000 has soared to 89,000 today due to the certainty that the government will not be sent home by the apex court's judges (who appear to love Imran Khan).

But the release of Bushra Begum (Imran's wife) and the letter to Biden by 60 US congressmen asking him to get Imran released could stop the bullish trend (unless Imran Khan publicly agrees not to destabilize the country). Let's wait and see.

26th amendment restores balance between government and judiciary

With the passage of the twenty sixth amendment to the Constitution, some sanity has been restored and the government is now in no danger of being sent home by judges who think Imran Khan is the savior needed for Pakistan. Some lawyers are against the amendment, saying that it undermines the independence of the judiciary, but they fail to recognize how irresponsibly the majority of Supreme Court judges have behaved in recent years. 

I'm in favor of a totally independent judiciary but the seniority system ensured that was introduced in 1996 is not ideal. It resulted in the majority of the Chief Justices were from Lahore, and even highly corrupt individuals became Chief Justices. In most democratic countries, including the US, judges are appointed by the government of the day. This too is not an ideal system, but at least judges appointed in this system don't consider themselves above the law. In Pakistan, they have acted irresponsibly and one of them (Bandial) even amended the Constitution to prevent Hamza Shahbaz becoming the Chief Minister of the Punjab. 

The Stock Exchange and other indicators of the economy are showing signs of resurgence. The majority of the people are relieved that the government of the day can work without undue interference by compromised judges of the apex court.

As expected, Imran Khan's party behind fake rape riots

It was not rape at all. A college student was injured when she fell in her own house and was hospitalized for two weeks. But Imran Khan's activists began posting fake news, claiming that the girl had been raped. They went so far as to say that the CCTV footage of the incident had been deleted by the college principal, whom they accused of protecting the alleged rapist. Then they urged students of their party to protest and damage property. Of course, Imran Khan's aim was to scare away the delegates to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization being held in Islamabad. Fortunately the protests were confined to Lahore only, but spread to other cities in Punjab later.

When the girl's parents appeared on TV and revealed the real story, Imran's men backtracked and displayed the photo of another girl as the rape victim, who is not even a student but is a married woman.

Of course all this would never have happened if those who damaged property on May 9 two years ago had been punished. But our judges are so enamored of Imran that they do not dare take any action against him or his men. They do only what their mothers-in-law want.

Imran Khan's disqualification (Oxford University Chancellor) is a major defeat

For the past two months I'd been receiving Whattsapp posts from Imran Khan's followers that he had already been elected Chancellor of Oxford University. I pointed out to them that elections had not yet taken place, that the list of qualified candidates had not yet been finalized, so how could he already be the Chancellor? But such is the power of Imran Khan's social media activists that they would be able to persuade his followers to believe anything, even if he claims that he is the founder of Pakistan.

Yesterday the list came out, and Imran's lovers were horrified that despite spending so much money and energy, he has been disqualified to contest the election, despite many UK parliament members pleading that he be allowed. 

I can guess what happened. Those who finalized the list must have studied Imran Khan's activities in detail, concluding that he has been tried fairly and convicted lawfully. But knowing the mindset of Imran Khan's followers, I doubt if they would agree. I wish they'd stage demonstrations against Oxford University so that overseas Pakistanis get to know how repulsive they are. 

It's good to know that Imran Khan has not been able to fool people in the UK, like he has fooled some Pakistanis.