So we are going to mainstream the extremism? Mainstream extremists? Extreme the mainstream? What on earth does the Tehreek-e-Insaf chief mean? And is there a difference between any or all of those nomenclatures? The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government allocates Rs 300 million of tax payers’ money to the Akora Khattak Darul Aloom Haqqania madrassa under the leadership of the ‘father of the Taliban’, Maulana Samiul Haq to ‘reconstruct and rehabilitate’ in its provincial budget – and hides it under an obscure head. It gets discovered and criticised, and eventually makes international headlines too. What does the party leader have to say for himself? First: Maulana helped him in his anti-polio drive. Second: The KP government is mainstreaming extremists. Third: the allocation was made to the terror factory without his knowledge.

A book could be written about each absurd and dishonest claim. But let’s examine briefly.

First: how exactly did the madrsssa or its Taliban Father help the KP government in its anti-polio drive? Did they and their students run around administering polio drops to little uns? Did they provide ‘security’ to polio teams? What DID they do? None of the rest of us are aware of a single measure of sensible action the seminary or its leader has taken.

Second: What exactly does Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan mean by ‘mainstreaming’ extremists? Hasn’t he done enough of that already, to the existential detriment of this country? Think about this again: mainstreaming extremists. He is on record as having built a ‘consensus’ amongst political parties as having agreed to have a peace dialogue with murderers; he has led calls of condemnation on the killing/droning of Taliban murderers; he is on record as having denied blowing up of schools of children by Taliban and Al Qaida militants and extremists; he is on record as having, time and again, and even after the cold blooded murder of over 140 children in the APS massacre, of supporting the Taliban. After having done all of that, he still speaks of ‘mainstreaming extremists’? He HAS mainstreamed it. His disciples question every sane argument; mindlessly they present un-researched, YouTubed evidence as slaps against reason and knowledge. How much more does he want to damage this country and its progeny in his utter greed for power?

Third: What? I mean, what? Without your knowledge and consent? Rs 300 million in this poor country? And given your publically known propensities? Give me a break. This is a scoundrel’s ‘out’, when he is reduced to denying all knowledge of what was going on under his stewardship – and after having publicly defended the funding with excuses of polio and what not.

In a country fast losing any ground that we thought we had gained against extremism, such acts are adding fuel to the fire of hatred and intolerance. Excuses and distorted reasons are not going to cut it. We need clarity of thought and purpose with which to try to save our country. There are very many righteous ways of fighting extremism (and good uses of taxpayers’ rupees) ranging from putting the same money to use in improving public schools, offering incentives to parents of kids to get their kids into mainstream schools, curriculum reform etc. etc. None of these methods involve putting a large sum of money to institutions with a known track record of fermenting extremism. And if this is realpolitik, supporting a particular faction against the other brand of mullahs, then this is as incendiary action given the current state of affairs in the country.

Mr. Khan, your game is up. It’s really up. Even the proletariat get that you are, and always were, a charlatan. Never mind some of us, who understood you from day one. Your day is up. In Urdu they say, ‘jhoot key paoon nahi hotay’. I don’t think you can carry your lies that much further anymore. But who am I? 2018 will decide – God Bless.

Only a couple of days ago, I compared your statements regarding the Sabri murder and your party’s support of ARY channel’s onslaught on the poor murdered Sabri. Your party supported the onslaught of blasphemy on Sabri and Geo. And you were reveling in it. Now for public consumption you are mourning his murder. Are you even human? Do you even consider the consequence of your words? Have you ever cared about any one individual life? Like the lives of those killed in your jalsa where bodies were being raised to catch your attention, but you went on with your political invective?