We love you Imran. We love you for your hard work. We love you for your honesty. We love you for the fair game you stand for. Above all, we love you for your patriotism. You won us the World Cup. You won us a good name. You did not beat a cricket team in the 1992 final. You beat an empire. It is not a mean feat by any means. We love you for that. You've had an archrival in the name of Nawaz, in the past and the present. Sarfraz Nawaz, first; now it is Nawaz Sharif. You kicked out one. You might trump the other, as well.
Sweethearts flocked to you everywhere. There were medals and scandals. You earned fame, money, and stardom. You erected a cancer hospital, a monument to your departed mother, a refuge for the poor and needy. Your dedication to the cause speaks volumes of a very subtle and sensitive nature. How unlike you, who were so reputed for his cockiness in the field. Foes insinuate when it comes to Jemima Khan, calling you a Jewish agent. But we loved you even then. We were so happy when you brought your English bride to your home. How beautiful it was to see an English lady in the local costume. The beautiful lady, who's doing an English translation of your speeches for your children, now!
All this sounds so upbeat. So stimulating. And so convenient. But we have our doubts. Yes, skipper. We do! The worst part is they're not the figment of our fanciful imagination. Nor are they the work of a superstitious mind. These are fears and apprehensions of a real nature. Our ears are still echoing with the throaty recitals of Aitzaz Ahsan, when he chanted so eloquently: “Dunya ki tareekh gawah hai/Adal bina jamhur na ho ga.” Where are all those men in the black coats and ties? What happened to the high aspirations? Look, what came out of the revolution? All that fervour and mass hysteria?
And by the way, what fruits did we reap of the tree of democracy? Wasn't it a mere mirage - a fraud leading us to the land of the fairies? Those two brothers-in-arms, when they signed the Murree Pact, were also promising us rivers flowing with milk and honey. Have a look now!
We’re tired of the verbose. Of the hypocrite. Of the fakes. Of the fools. Of the rhetoricians. Of the self-acclaimed intelligentsia. And all their cohorts. Of those, who speak softly, but out of whose mouths venom pours.
Are you also just another magician? What tricks do you have up your sleeve, skipper? What spell are you going to cast on us - the somnambulist lot? We the poor, pauper and possessed in this land of the pure. Are you going to make us a spectacle, too? We love you, Imran! We really do! But please tell us what panacea have you got for our cancerous disease? How would you reduce this cancerous inflation? This cancerous unemployment? This cancerous illiteracy? This cancerous explosion of population? What remedy have you got for our maladies? Our tumours are varied and manifold. Our whole body politics is infected. They refuse to be treated with placebos, anymore. They’ve developed a defensive system to steroids. A major surgery is what is required. But are you an adept surgeon, ready for the job? Or are you just another quack, like them all?
We love you, Imran! We really do! But how on earth are you going to salvage our plight with your inane cricket metaphors. For God’s sake man, grow up! We don't need a cricket match here. We need a statesman. Learn the art. You have to have the strength of Jinnah for that. It's not enough to make a pledge at the mausoleum on the Quaid's day. We've had enough of that. We demand wisdom, vision and foresight on your part. Be a philosopher-king. Not some petty politician. We see a lot of turncoats in your ranks. They will not bring about a revolution. Give us a solid reason why we should go for the PTI in the next general elections.
Enough of this tsunami nonsense, also. By definition, a tsunami is a destructive force, not a constructive one. Are you going to inundate these flood-stricken, earthquake-hit, terrorism victims any deeper? Don’t you think we've had enough of the carnage during the past 10 years? Please don’t. Leave your Caliph to the job. Haroon Rasheed. He had his visions. Now he’s having premonitions already. Or better still, leave it to your spiritual mentor, Prof Rafique Akhtar. He’s more of an enlightened soul. A latter-day saint, so to say.
You claim you'll weed out financial corruption from the country in three months. Oh really? Perhaps, no one told you corruption and politics goes hand in hand. And that corruption is only a symptom of something more sinister. Call it economic recession. Or a complete slump and bankruptcy. How would you resuscitate a dead horse? Economic revival is what we need, as you can see.
We wouldn’t bother you about the security situation, as such. Thanks to the sacrifices of the countrymen, it is in a much better shape than it used to be, let’s say, a year ago. Nor would we indulge in the argument whether the war on terror is ours or not, although, that formed a major part of your political narrative. What's your Kashmir policy? What's your energy policy? What's your stand on the Kalabagh Dam? What's your stand on the MQM, now that you’ve held a mammoth rally in Karachi? Like the fast and furious Mirza, you also once approached Scotland Yard, with suitcases full of the alleged documentary evidences. Nothing came out of that. You returned empty-handed. Would it also happen to your economic revival policy? And to your dispensation of "justice for all"? How would you deal with the Bretton Woods Institutions; the IMF and the World Bank? How would you unburden us of the foreign and domestic debts? How would you deal with Uncle Sam? Will we go towards global partnership or global alienation and isolation? There are a thousand questions and queries in our minds.
Revolutions are the brainchild of a breed that is long gone. We don't have a Rousseau, Voltaire or John Locke here. We don’t have even our own Iqbal anymore. We understand you’re not a messiah, Imran. We also know fully well that you may fail on most of your promises. Still, you’ve presented to us the third option. We love you for that. And we thank you for that. As for our own plight, we're not so sure. Yes, skipper. Call us a pessimist lot. But, we aren't. And we have our reasons.
The writer is a freelance columnist.
Email: samiurn@yahoo.com