YES, WE KHAN

Imran Khan bats for peace with India, rules out poll alliance with Zardari

Imran Khan, Pakistan’s cricket icon and leader of the opposition Tehrik-i-Insaaf, says that everyone in the country wants peace with India. In an exclusive interview to Khaleej Times at his hilltop house on the outskirts of Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, the cricketer-turned-politician who met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, said: “I am a bit disturbed by the way Prime Minister Modi has tried to isolate Pakistan rather than encouraging the relationship forward. All of us, I mean, everyone in Pakistan wants peace with India. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.”

India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads since a group of gunmen killed 19 Indian soldiers in September at an army camp in Kashmir, an attack India blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

But Khan said that “the hallmark of good leaders is that they should resist this pressure of going back to hostilities in the event of a terrorist attack. I think the responsibility lies with the bigger country. India is a huge country and it could have done more to improve the relationship with Pakistan”.

“I think trade with all the neighbours should be Pakistan’s priority. And trade with India and China would be the best way,” he suggested.

Leaders of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto have announced they would be entering the parliament after winning by- elections. And Imran Khan, who says he is fighting for a corruptionfree and a just Pakistan, has hinted at being ready for a joint struggle to make Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accountable for “stashing billions in offshore accounts”.

“As far as the joint opposition against Panama goes, we were all together in the assembly.” We wanted the prime minister to answer those questions. And on that issue we’ll probably be together in the parliament with all the opposition,” said Khan while making it clear that “there is no question of an electoral alliance” with the PPP.

A former Pakistan cricket team captain who won his country the World Cup in 1992, he is unhappy about the way the cricket affairs are being run in Pakistan. “Pakistani cricket is very poorly managed. The structure is probably one of the worst anywhere in the world. Because we do not have a proper cricket structure, proper management in Pakistan, we cannot tap into this huge talent.”

Khan, whose two marriages have ended in divorce, says he is not sure about a third one in 2017. I think trade with all the neighbours should be Pakistan’s priority. And trade with India and China would be the best way

CIs Pakistan cricket getting ready for the period when the team captain Misbahul Haq retires?

Actually the problem with Pakistani cricket is that it is not an institution. It is on an ad hoc basis. It is very poorly managed. The structure of Pakistan cricket is probably one of the worst anywhere in the world. On the positive side, Pakistan has probably more talent than any other country in the world. Now this is where the real disappointment lies for Pakistan cricket. That despite having this enormous talent we just do not seem to produce. Because we do not have a proper cricket structure, proper management in Pakistan, we cannot tap into this huge talent. ricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has always kept the government headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, an industrialist, on its toes since it has been voted to power for the third time after 2013 elections. First, in 2014, Khan, along with a cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, led thousands of people protesting against what they called “systematic rigging” in the polls and paralysed Sharif ’s government in Islamabad. Formed by the Supreme Court, a three-judge panel rejected the allegations of “organised rigging” during elections. Only a couple of months ago, Khan abandoned plans to bring Islamabad to a standstill after the top court agreed to his petition to launch an inquiry into corruption allegations against the PM after the leaking of the Panama Papers. He wants Sharif to explain how his children became owners or trustees of offshore companies that own expensive London property. Sharif and his children deny any wrongdoing, but Khan suggests that the family’s offshore companies may have been used to hide “ill-gotten wealth” or avoid tax. The court is going to hear the case in January again after winter vacation. After a short journey through the untidy villages, Khaleej Times met Imran Khan at his hilltop mansion on the outskirts of Islamabad, that has become part of his political persona, on December 28 afternoon. Dressed in a track suit and holding prayer beads in his hand and his dog sitting by him, Khan talks about cricket, though admitting that he hasn’t watched too much cricket “because of Panama”, and politics. Is your cricket experience helping you in any way in politics? Everything in life is a stepping stone. Your school prepares you for your university. Your university prepares you for your life afterwards. Similarly, my 20 years in cricket gave me the ability to struggle and to take the knocks. The most important thing for success is not necessarily coping with success but coping with failure. And nothing prepares you for failure better than sports, and especially cricket, because it is one of the most complex of the games. It has incredible highs and lows. It is also a game where an analytical mind helps you in improving your game constantly. So therefore my answer is yes. Yes, my experience in cricket has been invaluable. It has taught me to struggle, never to be scared of failure but to learn from failure. I don’t fear failures. I have learnt how to cope with failures, bad times. Do you readily accept mistakes? Do you say sorry when you do something wrong? Failure is the greatest teacher. It gives you the ability to stare at the mistakes and then correct them. If you don’t accept your mistakes, if you don’t accept constructive criticism, you can never move forward. Talking of criticism, your detractors say you mainstreamed the use of foul language. What’s your take on that? I don’t think it is foul language when you call a crook a crook. A crook is a crook. Why do we call someone a thief because he has stolen a few thousand rupees? What do we call someone who has stolen billions? What else do you call him but not a crook? The other thing is naming and shaming. Accepting criminals as a part of your society is the beginning of the downfall of the society. It’s very important in a culture to name and shame. That is a big deterrent. When someone steals billions and stashes them abroad and you shake his hand with both hands and bow down to him you are actually making corruption acceptable in a society. Corruption is the biggest cancer in a society. Do you think your Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party workers need to undergo some sort of political training the way those from the religio-political Jamaat-i-Islami or Qadri’s Pakistani Awami Tehreek parties do? I don’t think our workers will ever be that regimented. In a democratic political party you can’t have that regimentation. But it is important to imbibe the ideology of the party to the party workers so that they all know what they are standing up for. But what has changed Pakistan has Imran Khan during the interview at his home in Bani Gala, near Islamabad. — been the social media. Social media disseminates information quicker than ever in human history. This has caused major upsets like Trump, like Brexit in Britain, like the so-called Arab Spring. And the PTI is one party that has benefited from the social media. So by disseminating information so quickly, and amongst the young users the most, the social media is actually teaching the youth of Pakistan. It is making them politically aware of all the issues of this country and then actually, the ideology of PTI, which is basically about fighting for justice and rights. Politics in Pakistan is taking a new turn with the leaders of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announcing they would be entering the parliament after winning bye-elections. Would you be joining forces with them to dislodge the prime minister? I think as far as the joint opposition against Panama goes, we were all together in the assembly. We all signed the TORs. We wanted the prime minister to answer those questions. And on that issue we’ll probably be together in the parliament with all the opposition. But there is no question of an electoral alliance. Do you see snap polls in 2017? We are preparing for that. But I am not sure. Do they suit you? Yes, they suit us. But I am not sure whether the prime minister is able to survive this Panama case in the Supreme Court.

So you would be accepting any Supreme Court decision, whether it’s in your favour or their favour?

Yes, you have to. Once you go to the Supreme Court, you have to accept whatever decision it gives. We

I don’t think our workers will ever be that regimented. In a democratic political party you can’t have that regimentation WAQAR MUSTAFA went to the Supreme Court and the Judicial Commission appointed by the Supreme Court on the rigging issue in 2015. And even though I did not agree with the result, yet we accepted the decision. And again we will have to do the same. But remember it’s not the PTI that is on trial, it’s Nawaz Sharif and Supreme Court on trial. Because people of Pakistan, unfortunately, believe that the justice system of Pakistan has always sided with the powerful in the past. Do you subscribe to Pakistan’s founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s vision on equal citizenship? Absolutely! All human beings are equal in front of law. In fact that is what Islam says. The Constitution of Madinah had equal citizenship for Jews and Christians. And I believe all minorities are equal citizens of Pakistan. While criticising the government policies, do you come up with alternatives as well? Of course! In fact, we are implementing them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where our party is in government. I think it was World Bank that said that the highest human development index in the last three years has been in the KP. Most institutionalisation that is going on is being done in the KP. Police there is the best institutionalised and depoliticised police in Pakistan. When we attack the government, we talk about strong institutions. The only two ways Pakistan can progress is strengthening the institutions and spending money on the human development; health and education. That is how the societies rise. That is what we are trying to do in the KP.

At the end of the term in 2018 in the province, would your party have any success stories to share?

In KP, the people are the most politically aware. They never vote for the same party that does not deliver. I am confident that the PTI will emerge with a bigger majority in the next election because people in KP have seen the difference in terms of institutions, in terms of corruption. The governance in KP is better than it was before.

I think it was UNDP that evaluated the local government in KP the best. It is genuine devolution of power, devolution of funds, empowering people at the grass roots level. And village councils have been empowered for the first time. Yes there are some teething problems because this is the first time in Pakistan that such devolution has taken place. But any independent evaluation can see that there is a proper devolution of power in KP.

In education, the Wilson Centre has rated KP on top. The biggest achievement has been that 34,000 students went from private schools to public schools. So it means that the standard of government school system for the first time is going up.

What would be the contours of foreign policy if you are in power?

Foreign policy is dependent upon a strong domestic economy. So most important thing will be making Pakistan stand on its feet by balancing the budget, not depending on loans. We have taken record loans so far. Begging and borrowing for financing your expenditure weakens you. Our policy will be improving relationship with all our neighbours and... Even with India? Of course! I am a bit disturbed by the way Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried to isolate Pakistan rather than encouraging the relationship forward. All of us, I mean, everyone in Pakistan wants peace with India. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong. In India there are certain hawkish elements. But even the religious parties here want good relationship with India. When I met Modi, we did talk about it that whenever there is some terrorist incident in India we go back to square one. The hallmark of a good leadership is that they should resist this pressure of going back to

Of course! I am a bit disturbed by the way Prime minister Narendra modi has tried to isolate Pakistan rather than encouraging the relationship forward hostilities in the event of a terrorist attack. The relationship with India could not be worse. I think the responsibility lies with the bigger country. India is a huge country and it could have done more to improve the relationship with Pakistan. Would you be supporting intraSouth Asia trade more than with other regions? I think the greatest advantage Pakistan has is its location. And especially the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor link with China and Central Asia. I think trade with all the neighbours should be Pakistan’s priority. Two huge markets give Pakistan a great opportunity to alleviate poverty. Whoever comes to power, his priority should be to fight poverty. Best way is trade. And trade with China and India would be the best way. Can trade and talks go together? Yes, there can be trade and talks. But if an incident happens, and so many have happened in Pakistan, it does not mean to again resume hostilities and this belligerent talk because immediately all dialogue stops. Secondly, Kashmir is an indigenous issue. It’s a genuine, popular uprising people wanting their freedom or their rights. But to blame Pakistan, I think, is wrong. The way the movement is going, the more oppression, the more use of force, the more the movement for freedom will strengthen. Pakistan should not be blamed for that. Relations with the United States, Russia and Iran? I am not sure, and I think nobody can be sure about the relationship with the US in Trump’s presidency. Clearly these are big powers and Pakistan should have good relations with all of them. 2017, power, protest or marriage, or will it be all three? One thing I am not sure about is marriage. Power and protest possible. A lot depends on the Supreme Court. I am still very optimistic. I think this is an open and shut case and I feel it probably heads towards elections. news@khaleejtimes.com