Karl Inderfurth, Imran Khan & Memory Loss (1996 to 2011)

WAY BACK IN 1999: WASHINGTON, Sept 16: The State Department said on Wednesday the US would continue to work with the Nawaz Sharif government as it was its policy to work with "the Government of Pakistan." "Our policy is based on working with the Government of  Pakistan, and we will continue to work with the Sharif government," Spokesman Jamie Rubin told his regular briefing when asked about the demand by opposition leader Imran Khan that the US should not support the present "corrupt" government. The spokesman was asked: "The former (cricket captain) of Pakistan and now a politician, speaking at the CSIS the other day, said that the US and the IMF should not support the corrupt government of Nawaz Sharif, number one. "Number two, Mr.Sharif has cancelled his visit to the UN. He was supposed to meet with the secretary and the president, and I understand, according to Mr.Khan, that because he does not want to sign the CTBT which he promised last year next year he will sign at the UN." Rubin replied: "Well, may be Mr.Khan has developed the role of spokesman for Mr. Sharif and, therefore, if you have any other questions about Mr. Sharif's intentions or desires, you can direct further questions at Mr. Khan. But from our standpoint, we believe that the path we've taken in working with Pakistan on a number of issues, but also imposing restrictions as a result of their nuclear testing, is the right course. Our policy is based on working with the Government of Pakistan, and we will continue to work with the Sharif government." Officials also clarified that Mr.Imran Khan could not see Assistant Secretary Karl Inderfurth because the US official had a sudden engagement and their meeting was called off at the last minute. A senior American official said that Imran Khan did come to the State Department to meet Inderfurth but instead he could see Inderfurth's Deputy Mr. Eastham. Washington to continue working with Nawaz govt DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 18 September 1999 Issue : 05/38 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1999/18sep99.html#wash

EX PTI Leader Meraj Muhammad Khan on Imran Khan General Musharraf Alliance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-baag583dXI

Way Back in 2003

KARACHI: The leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Mairaj Muhammad Khan, has resigned from the office of Secretary-General and as member of Central Executive Committee in protest against the attitude of party chief Imran Khan who, he says, is managing party affairs through his non-political friends. Mairaj announced his resignation at a Press conference on Friday at the Karachi Press Club. He said after working for over five years with Imran Khan, he had come to the conclusion that the party chief and some of his "non-political" colleagues wishing to build and run the party affairs beyond the realm of experience and comprehension of the Secretary-General. He said it was tragedy that Imran failed to build a party that could lead the people in the struggle to change the oppressive system while the great goals and objectives could only be achieved by great struggle and sacrifices through a strong and organised set-up. The PTI leader said that unfortunately those at the helm of affairs did not share a common vision and many of them were devoid of all conviction and commitment and were not interested even in rendering the slightest sacrifice. He said that the Imran and his friends knew that they would lose their monopoly and control over the party if it developed into a real democratic force as then genuine political workers would join the PTI. He alleged that these elements were creating factionalism, disunity, and lack of discipline in the organisation, and didn't refrain from facilitating the entry of dubious characters, and even criminals into the party, so as to render it ineffective. Mairaj said that the party could have trained and created excellent leaders and workers but there was no collective leadership, no political direction, no political activity or struggle, or enforcement of decisions and accountability. The rank and file, therefore, became disillusioned and the party was gradually reduced to a 'fan club'. He said that the party chief nominated his friends as chief organisers and chief campaign managers who were not really interested in building the party image and made no serious preparations for the local bodies polls or general elections. Mairaj pointed out that the basic strategy and efforts of these elements were to seek government support to reach the corridors of power. He pointed out they gave the analysis that as Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif were out in the wilderness, the PTI, was the best choice of the military regime, which would then be forced to send strong "constituency candidates" to contest the elections on behalf of the PTI. He said that the party chief and his friends supported the referendum of Gen Musharraf to achieve this task which had no moral, legal, or political justification, and which lowered the standing in the democratic circles and completely alienated the party from the masses. He said the public meetings in Lahore and Rawalpindi, and the strategy for both the local and general elections also flopped. According to him, the "miracle" they expected did not take place and when it become clear that the government was in fact patronising the PML-Q, Imran strongly rejected the strategy of 'collaboration' and started attacking the Chaudhury's of Gujrat. It was, however, already too late, Mairaj said, adding, "cricket is by chance but politics certainly is not." He said during the last many years the country had been in the grip of severe inflation, unemployment, "honour" killings, ethnic and sectarian violence, and terrorism. He said the 1973 Constitution had been violated by the LFO and the supremacy of parliament itself had been undermined but the party did nothing to protest, demonstrate, and mobilise the masses on these burning issues. He said that the duality, lack of discipline, and disorder had paralysed the party and party was working as a commercial or social welfare organisation. Mairaj advised Imran that a political party could not lead the people if it was being run through personal friends, retired civil and military officials, and professional managers, like a pressure group or an NGO. He said that Imran was the hero of the World Cup for the people but they did, not accept him as a deliverer (Nijaat Dahanda) or the political leader. He pointed out that for the present, there was no elected organ in the party other than the central office-bearers while all other elected provincial organisations had been unnecessarily dissolved which created a leadership crisis. He said the ambiguity and lack of clarity in the policies had created confusion within the party, whether it was an Islamic democratic, social-democratic party or a Left-wing, Right-wing, or Centrist party. Mairaj said that Imran and he jointly finalised the names for the Central Executive Committee last month but Imran subsequently violated and announced that all those invited to the meeting on April 6 in Islamabad, would become members of the CEC, for six months. He said being Secretary-General of the party, he disagreed on this step of the party chief and decided to resign from the CEC and SG posts. REFERENCE: Mairaj resigns from post of PTI secretary-general

By our correspondent http://jang.com.pk/thenews/may2003-d...3/metro/k3.htm http://www.paklinks.com/gs/pakistan-affairs/101628-imran-khans-party-leader-resigns.html

LAHORE: The first lesson Mr Imran Khan must be in the process of learning is that if you have pretensions to a career in politics or in the service of the people in any other capacity, your personal life cannot be divorced from your public life. The second lesson he should learn is: Don't preach. Don't fall into the trap of moralising and sermonising. Do whatever you have to do, build a hospital or set up a pressure group, without constructing a Taj Mahar around it. And don't bring religion into everything. Now that it has been confirmed that he is marrying an aristocratic English girl, who will remain English whatever her religion or the clothes she wears, it is inevitable that all the words with which Mr Imran Khan has been flooding newspaper columns in recent months will be recalled to mock him. Those who always thought that there was something a little bogus and hypocritical about his conversion to Pakistaniyat will say: We told you so. In one of his articles, he had said: "All in all, I was smoothly moving to becoming a pukka Brown Sahib. After all I had the right credentials in terms of the right school, acceptability in the English aristocracy, something that our Brown Sahibs would give their lives for. So what led me to do a lota on the Brown Sahib culture and instead become a desi?" What will he say when he is told that he has taken advantage of what he  had decried, namely, acceptability in the English aristocracy, "some Sahibs would give their lives for"? And what kind of a 'lota' has he done in the final analysis? The uncharitable will say that his credentials have worked. Mr Imran Khan should realise that the parameters he had set out for the debate initiated by him as a prelude to entering public life were always naive and simplistic. Pakistan's main problems have nothing to do with the impact of Western culture or civilisation but absolutely every thing to do with our own feudal values which dominate all sectors of life. The symbol of the feudal is not jacket and trouser but shalwar and kameez. He is often uncouth in his behaviour and not very literate: indeed a dose of Western civilisation would do him a world of good. The criminal who terrorises the citizen is not Westernised either, and even the gun he carries is a Russian one imported from the Afghan Mujahideen. The corruption that permeates society is our very own, as is the serfdom and the oppression encountered in the rural areas and at the hands of the police in the cities. The only people for whom wearing Western clothes is actually mandatory and who find it not at all distasteful, are our military men and policemen about which Mr Imran Khan had nothing to say. Marry of Dur political attitudes, not least the lack of tolerance for opposing viewpoints, are coloured by feudalism. If the Iranians crusaded against Western culture, that formed only one strand of a revolutionary upsurge which involved the  overthrowing of deeply entrenched and sinister monarchy. It was not something adopted in isolation, merely for the sake of being different. Dress has lithe to do even wit the sense of national identity, which can come only from a feeling of full participation in the governance of one's country and the knowledge that the life, honour and property of the citizen are being protected by those elected to do so. The sense of nationhood should not in an case be confused with wearing one's patriotism on one's sleeve or being chauvinistic. If M Imran Khan had tried to tackle some of these issues as well the religious bigotry that has enveloped us, instead of railing against the brown sahibs, he might have evoked a more sympathetic chord among those who read him. He allowed himself t be involved in irrelevancies, an now stands in danger of being described as a lost cause. Which is a pity because he has been on of the most charismatic personalities produced by Pakistan. H should have confined himself to quietly building and running his hospital instead of fulmination against politics and politicians, getting himself hooked on the likes of Gen Hameed Gul and telling us ordinary mortals what grovelling creatures we are. But good luck to him in hi marriage. May he have the courage to say 'to hell with you to his critics. That would b more like the Imran Khan who people liked. Matrimony and the moralist From Tahir Mirza DAWN WIRE SERVICE, Section B Week Ending : 18 May, 1995 Issue : 01-19 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1995/18My95B.html#matr

Imran Khan "Hates" & "Loves" Religious Parties (MMA) at the same time.

Imran Khan Flase Allegations on MMA & Intelligence Agencies (Jirga - 23 Dec 2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgp0Dr9aF1g



* In Musharraf, I saw a reformer; I was wrong * Agencies deprived us of winnable candidates
* The economy has sunk and poverty increased * I was offered a top job * We are now organising our party * This is a fight between the establishment and democratic forces * Candidates withdraw when they see that the establishment is against you Imran Khan, chief of his Tehreek-e-Insaaf, is a maverick politician. He won his seat from Mianwali with a thumping majority, is adored by Pakistanis for his contribution to cricket and social welfare. And yet, his party refuses to take off and most people consider him a political novice who doesn’t know how to chalk out the right political course. He is also seen as wavering between his past liberalism and today’s almost rightwing conservative ideas. His party has been going from bad to worse; recently, one of his stalwarts left the party accusing Imran of running the party autocratically. When General Pervez Musharraf took over in October 1999, Imran came very close to him but parted ways when he saw Musharraf indulging in political wheeling-dealing. Today, Imran stands in the opposition. Daily Times’ Karachi Resident Editor Sarfaraz Ahmed met him for a tough-talking interview in Karachi. Below are the excerpts:

Daily Times: Let’s begin with the resignation of your party’s secretary general Mairaj Mohammad Khan.

Imran Khan: I feel sad that Mairaj Mohammad Khan who really worked hard for the party has left feeling bitter. It is unfortunate. We wanted to reorganise our party and give him another position. The secretary general is really the key position around which the party revolves; it is the person that organises the entire party. And Mairaj Mohammad Khan is a different type of politician, basically a street politician, who makes great speeches and is good with the workers. So we wanted to give the job of organisation to someone else. But he took it badly and left. But people come and go in parties and this does not affect parties until they stick to their ideology. Look at the mass defection in Pakistan People’s Party, look at PML (N). It doesn’t mean they will be finished in the next elections. They might actually make a comeback. It all depends on whether people perceive what the party stands for.

DT: But Mairaj Mohammad Khan has raised important issues in his resignation letter. He is highly critical of how you have been running the party?

IK: There’s no point in talking about that. That letter was written in anger. Whatever he wrote was in the heat of the moment. He seemed hurt.

DT: But Mairaj is not the only person. Another important office-bearer, Azhar, has also resigned.

IK: Azhar would go wherever Mairaj goes. When Mairaj talked to the press, Azhar was sitting with him.

DT: Have you accepted his resignation?

IK: Well (laughing), if you go to the press then what choice are others left with?

DT: What do you think of the present state of Pakistan’s politics?

IK: We keep saying that Pakistan is at a crossroads. What does that mean? It means whether our institutions will prevail over the establishment. It is a fight between the establishment, wanting to retain its power over the institutions, which it has done more or less so far and the supremacy of parliament. If democrats win this battle and if they manage to have 1973 constitution reinstated in toto, then we will have a situation where perhaps for the first time the establishment will have lost to political and democratic forces.

DT: You were bitterly critical of the PPP and the PML-N. You seem to have moved away from that position towards accommodation. Why?

IK: Sadly, it is absolutely true. I supported Gen [Pervez] Musharraf because I felt and believed that he could deliver, clean up the judicial system, which is the biggest problem, strengthen the Election Commission, have across-the-board accountability, and hold free and fair elections. If he had done that he would have created a niche for himself. I freely admit my mistake. Before the elections I had a choice. Ours was probably the only party that had the choice either to join or go along with the establishment party or actually risk being wiped out as we almost did. We were deprived of four of our winnable candidates by three agencies. The moment people realise that the establishment is against a party they cower. Contesting elections needs big money. Who wants to spend that kind of money in fighting the establishment and losing? So all our eligible candidates disappeared and we were nearly wiped out. The Musharraf government thought I was in for a piece of cake like others [laughs] while I mistakenly thought Musharraf genuinely wanted to reform the system. I wasn’t interested to be part of their sham and they weren’t interested in reforms.

DT: Did Musharraf convey to you through the agencies that you would be the next prime minister?

IK: No. I was never told I would be the prime minister. I was made to understand that I could really get a good post, possibly the top job. Look at the power the Patriots have. I mean look at it in terms of their parliamentary strength and in terms of the share in the government. It is disproportionate. So I guess I would have been one of those if I had played along.

DT: But you were sure you would become the PM?

IK: Not for a minute did I even consider it. All I am saying is that this was in the end when they negotiated with me and asked me to join the National Alliance.

DT: Was that after the referendum?

IK: That’s when they came after the referendum. I wasn’t buying. They told me ‘listen you are missing out’. Later, they said I’d not even win my own seat.

DT: But you did win your seat.

IK: I won my seat only because there was a popular revolution in Mianwali. Even though all the traditional political houses that have fought each other for thirty years combined to defeat me. That was done by the agencies, but the popular will supported me.

DT: But still...

IK: My opponent who was supported by the establishment had secured 30,000 votes in the previous elections. In the October election, the agencies got him 61,000 votes. I guess they [the agencies] thought that was enough. But the common man returned me with record number of votes.

DT: But your party did not fare well elsewhere?

IK: Look at the problem people don’t understand in Pakistan. Everyone knows the PML-N has the vote-bank and ‘Q’ has no vote-bank. PML-N has barely got 13 seats in the Punjab where they have been in power for fifteen years. How does one explain that? Even in Lahore, the PML-N despite its vote could not get all the seats. So it is the question of getting the right candidates. If your candidates are strong, you will be able to pick up your vote-bank. You also need finances. When our confrontation started with the establishment, we were left with no time and couldn’t groom our own candidates. Those who would have thrown in their lot with us realised the establishment was backing ‘Q’ and so they backed off. Some of them were very straightforward and told us they just could not waste their money.

DT: So you are satisfied with the party’s performance?

IK: No, I am not. That’s why we want to reorganise. We are now developing the party to be able to contest and win elections. We will now groom our own candidates. We are not going to be ever in a position where we are at the mercy of attracting other candidates.

DT: Prime Minister Jamali says the democratic process would come to an end if the opposition does not relent on the LFO issue.

IK: The democratic process has hardly begun. How could it come to an end? This is not democracy. The prime minister calls the president his ‘ boss’ while we have a parliamentary system. The real power is with the president, while the responsibility lies with the prime minister. How can the system work? I don’t know what democracy he is talking about. This is like one of the ‘banana republic’ democracies. The only thing going for us is the free press. We have had rigged elections and the only force that has defied the establishment is of course the MMA.

DT: What are your views on LFO?

IK: The issue and the debate mainly revolve round one point, the uniform. I don’t understand how we can call ourselves a democracy if we have an army chief as president; a grade-22 officer sitting on top of the prime minister. This is not a democracy. I feel very strongly that the only compromise can be that the president doffs his uniform and seek election through the assemblies.

DT: What do you see in the near future?

IK: I don’t see the problem getting any easier. I see a system that is unworkable because of a basic anomaly. This system is going to destroy itself sooner or later. The only way out is for Musharraf to become the president sans his uniform.

DT: How is the economy doing?

IK: September 11 has given Pakistan a window of opportunity. Please bear in mind that before Sept 11, this government had devalued the rupee by 20%. Anyway, thanks to that event, the rupee has stabilized; that’s good. We have reserves. But the biggest disservice this government has done to the common man is reducing the deficit by increasing the prices of utilities. If you collect money through indirect taxes and reduce the deficit, you reduce the deficit, but at what cost. That has broken the common man’s back. There is stagflation and the government has cut down on development expenditures. It should be making infrastructural investment. Its actions are only worsening the recession, though we keep hearing that the economy is picking up. So that’s the one point. But the other point is, I can’t see the economy picking up if there is so much political instability. Who is going to invest? Investment is directly related to political stability and good governance. * REFERENCE: HARDtalk: "MMA is the only political force that has defied the establishment..." Sunday, June 15, 2003 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_15-6-2003_pg3_7

Jami Chandio says Imran Khan & PTI have no policy for Sindh (GEO TV 28/12/11)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhTJ6DwjGWg

Imran opposes return of Benazir, Nawaz Staff Correspondent KHAIRPUR, Aug 13: The Chairman, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf, Imran Khan, has said that the economic conditions of the country are critical and asked what impression the PML and PPP are trying to create by demanding the return of Nawaz Sharif and Ms Benazir Bhutto. He said that the two former rulers took loans and looted the national exchequer worth millions of rupees, and added that how they could be allowed to come back and lead the nation. He said that to the best of his knowledge, the government was not hammering out any deal for the return of Nawaz Sharif and Ms Benazir and such news were creating the wrong impression in the minds of the general public. He supported the reforms saying that the educational and judicial systems should be improved. He observed that in a country where the judicial system was powerful, there would be no political crisis. He suggested a national council consisting of retired judges, lawyers, journalists, intellectuals, and other responsible people for the accountability of the whole system. Mr Imran said that successive elected governments had been providing an opportunity to the army to take over by creating a crisis-like situation in the country where the army was left with no other option. Talking about the elections, he said he was sure that the elections would be held as per schedule and there was no reason for its delay. Defending the reason for supporting the referendum of President Pervez Musharraf, Mr Imran said that there had been a meeting of political parties where all had agreed to support the referendum, but later some of them backed out. Imran opposes return of Benazir,  Nawaz DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending: 17 August 2002 Issue : 08/33 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/2002/aug172002.html#imra

Imran Khan Propaganda Against Pakistani Establishment. (IBN/CNN)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JgwCr5NJJE

Imran Khan Propaganda Against Religious Parties in Indian Media. (IBN/CNN)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvZLNqlzYz4

One of the Alleged beneficiary of Mehran Bank Scandal was Mr. Nawaz Sharif & also Jamat-e-Islami:)

KARACHI, Aug 11: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan kicked off his election campaign by announcing three main points of his party's election manifesto - provision of justice, promotion of human values and ensuring self-respect. Addressing a public rally at Nishtar Park he said that he was launching his election campaign from Karachi as the city had always remained a centre of politics and democracy and any movement which began from the metropolis had soon taken the country into its grip. But he lamented that from the last few years this role had been denied to the city, which is a mini- Pakistan. He recalled that in the past, the two main parties which remained in power one after the other had failed to implement their election manifestos because of lack of determination. But, Imran Khan said, for the last 25 years the nation had remained aware of his role as whatever he had promised he had honoured his commitments. Imran Khan said he had derived the three points from Islam and added that the country could not be put to progress unless we are prepared to do justice with its ideology for turning Pakistan into a welfare Islamic state. He said that all our crises were a result of our failure to do justice with our people. He said in our country only the weaker section of society was being made a victim of all repression and oppression while the powerful enjoyed immunity even after plundering the nation's wealth. In this connection, he referred to a report published in Dawn, in which names along with cheque numbers of those who had benefited from Rs500 crores of the Mehran Bank were published. He said these people were again in the field to contest the elections. The case of plundering the wealth has been pending in the court and was not being proceeded because of the influence of those involved in corruption, he maintained. He pledged that his party would never involve in politics of power and would not make alliance with any party whose leader had been involved in corruption. "Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf believes in fair and free elections and will ensure the election to be conducted by a neutral umpire as I was the person who first introduced neutral umpire in the cricket world." He said the government had been trying to reform the system of education in religious institutions but was not paying heed to the English medium institutions, which had been producing Westernized youths devoid of Pakistani spirit. He said no society could progress without giving due status and respect to its teachers, judges and religious scholars. Spelling out the third point of the manifesto, he said the government had been acting on the dictates of the IMF and the World Bank and if Allah gave him an opportunity to serve the people, he would certainly repay their loans but would not take dictation from them. The others who spoke on the occasion including Mairaj Mohammad Khan, Dr Arif Alavi, Zahid Bhurgari, Mir Haider Talpur, Tehmina Khattak, Bismillah Khan, Ashraf Quraishi, Fauzia Khan, Tufail Abbas and Amanullah Paracha. Imran vows to ensure justice and self-respect DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 17 August 2002 Issue : 08/33 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/2002/aug172002.html#imra

Nawaz Sharif & Mehran Bank Scandal (Capital Talk 21 Nov 2011)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x18ak47sG9g



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr5GO43NNDE


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWokqx_kUNU

KARACHI, Aug 26: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has not only lost the confidence of his erstwhile allies in Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP, but also the confidence of the people of Pakistan. Commenting on the MQM's parting of ways from Sindh government Imran Khan said: "It is not simply the coalition that has fallen apart but it has actually sounded the death-knell of an unjust system of governance, being kept in place by the vested interests in Pakistan. The PTI chief said that the provinces of the federation as well as overseas Pakistanis are also absolutely disillusioned by his capability and performance. "The Nawaz government is finished. The longer, the Raiwind monarchy stays, the greater the damage to the country's integrity. The situation demands immediate corrective and remedial measures to ensure damage control," he added. URBAN Democratic Front Chairman Hussain Haqqani said that had the tension between the MQM and PML been on the basis of issues confronting the people, their reaction would have been different, but as the resignations had been tendered by the organisation, they were neither happy nor sorry. Recalling that despite being part of the government, the unjustified results of the recently held census was conceded, and the population of Karachi had been reduced extremely, the restoration of quota system resolution was adopted in the assembly in the presence of MQM representatives. He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif totally ignored the interests of Sindh and Karachi, but at that time they never thought of parting of ways on any of these issues. Pakistan Awami Tehreek Sindh President Prof Dr D.A. Quaderi said it was another push which is crumbling the government. "The days of the government are numbered and the people would be relieved soon from a hypocrite government," he said. He said a government run on the basis of coercion, oppression, lies and hypocrisy could not long last. REFERENCE Leaders see Nawaz govt in doldrums DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 29 August 1998 Issue : 04/34 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1998/29Aug98.html#lead

KARACHI, Aug 27: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan on Thursday gave a clarion call to the countrymen to get up and replace the crumbling system which had been there only to protect exploiters, waderas, feudals and plunderers of national wealth. Addressing a public meeting at Lasbela Chowke on Thursday night Imran Khan termed the prevailing set up as the "Mian-BB" system whose sun is now setting. It is not the system of the poor, the workers, the peasants, honest traders and nationalist industrialists, he said. He warned that if this system would be allowed to continue, it would be harmful for the country. The PTI chief paid rich tributes to people of Karachi and recalled past struggles they had waged against the Ayub  dictatorship, undoing of martial law regimes and for the restoration of democracy. He said now the time had come for Karachiites to stand up against the obsolete system. Referring to the excesses which had been faced by people of Karachi, Imran Khan said that the new system was the need of the hour to serve the people without any discrimination, and which would not be aimed at protecting any particular set or group. He said it were the rulers who wanted to pit the people against each other on one pretext or the other, to divert their attention while they looted, but the system which the PTI had planned to implement in the country would look after the interests of the common man, and they would not need to run after the MNAs and MPAs and other influential people. Mr Khan reiterated his stance that devolution of power was the only solution to all the problems being faced by the people and promised to enforce the new system after coming to power. He said the new system would also ensure social justice and promote national integrity. The meeting was also addressed by other PTI leaders including Mairaj Mohammad Khan, Dr Arif Alvi, Najeeb Haroon and others. Sun setting on Mian-BB setup: Imran DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 29 August 1998 Issue : 04/34 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1998/29Aug98.html#suns

KARACHI, July 8: Alleging that rigging had been rampant in the union councils elections in Karachi and Lahore, Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Imran Khan, said the government, in a planned way, had ensured the success of the Hamkhiyal group candidates in Lahore. He said that rigging certainly had taken place in Karachi, but not in an organized manner. He alleged that huge amount of money had been spent to bribe the presiding officers. Imran accuses govt of planned rigging in polls DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 14 July 2001 Issue : 07/28 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/2001/jul1401.html#imra

ISLAMABAD, Feb 3: The cricket star turned politician Imran Khan who contested the election for eight national assembly seats, failed to win a single seat, ending any thought that he would emerge as a third political force in the country. Mr Khan who now heads the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf political party, besides running a cancer hospital, was believed to be winning at least his personal seat along with bagging couple of more seats for his partymen. However, he could not be returned to the national assembly as was generally being projected by both political and non-political quarters. Analysts said that he too was the victim of the new wave that ran across the country in favour of Pakistan Muslim League(N) and despite having lot of support from the youth, he did not even secure a single seat for himself. He is on record as having said in a TV interview that he did not care even if he would not secure a single seat, and that he has a long way to go in politics to make his presence felt both in the public and the establishment . Imran out for a duck Ihtashamul Haque DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 06 February 1997 Issue : 03/06 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1997/06Feb97.html#imra

ISLAMABAD Sept 24: Three major political parties have begun mulling a unified strategy to forestal what they fear "chances of organized rigging" on selected seats on the election day. People's Party Parliamentarians Chairman Makhdoom Fahim, Pakistan Muslim League (N) Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan are expected to meet in the federal capital in the next couple of days to reach a consensus on giving a substantive ultimatum to the establishment to stop meddling in the electoral process or to go for an all-out agitation, informed sources of the three parties confirmed to Dawn. They were also in contact with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal leaders and had taken them into confidence in taking a united stand against the expected rigging, the sources said. According to PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar, all the major parties in the run are extremely perturbed over the reports of a planned rigging on the election day after all pre-poll rigging actions taken. "There are chances of misuse of election material when it is delivered in the evening of October 10," he said, adding that Makhdoom Amin Fahim was arriving here by evening and would start meeting the leaders of other like-minded politicians to plan a strategy. Mr Fahim, who has already held meetings with the leaders of these parties, told a news conference the other day that he was meeting the politicians to achieve the objective of national reconciliation. "It is very tough to fight against the establishment's moves but we are determined to expose every player of the power game before the masses as well as the world opinion leaders," said a political source. PIT Information Secretary Akbar S. Babar indicated that the leaders of the three parties might hold a joint press conference on Sunday. He said Imran Khan was also expected to speak to the press to expose the establishment's activities towards manipulation in shape of pre-poll rigging and rigging on the day of elections. Another suggestion is that these leaders during their meetings may consider chances of the maximum cooperation by making seat adjustments on the most crucial seats, where the top candidates of their parties were contesting.  One of the suggestions is that the PPP withdraw its candidate from the contest against Raja Zafarul Haq in Rawalpindi, as the PML-N has already asked its candidate to withdraw from contest against Makhdoom Amin Fahim. Similarly, they are also likely to discuss the possibility of withdrawing their candidates for the seats for which pro-government heavy weights are contesting. Their main target is said to be PML-QA President Mian Azhar, who is contesting for two National Assembly seats. The biggest hurdle in the way of getting all these leaders together is that all of them are pretty busy in their own electoral campaign in the four provinces. Makhdoom is contesting polls in Sindh, Imran in Mianwali, Swat and Lahore and Raja Zafarul Haq is fighting the battle of his lifetime in Rawalpindi. Parties mull strategy to check 'organized rigging' By Ahmed Hassan DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 28 September 2002 Issue : 08/39 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/2002/sep282002.html#part

LAHORE, Sept 6: Political developments have fast moved towards a 'grand' alliance and formal  announcement of major parties joining hands for a joint struggle to oust the PML. To begin with the alliance will have in its folds the 14-party Pakistan Awami Ittehad of which the People's Party is the largest organization, the Awami National Party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the Pakistan Awami Tehrik of Allama Tahirul Qadri and the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf headed by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan. Talks with other political parties like are also said to have been progressing and leaders here hope "a positive outcome". The alliance has determined seeking the dismissal of the Nawaz Sharif government as its "top priority" and sources close to it say that this is the avowed objective. However, the alliance is said to have worked out a future agenda which has "a genuine" provincial autonomy and devolution of power on top. The PAI leadership has not invited the Jamaat-i-Islami and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam of Maulana Fazlur Rehman to join the alliance for different reasons. Grand alliance in offing DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 11 September 1999 Issue : 05/37 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1999/11sep99.html#gran

MULTAN, Sept 29: Leaders of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) on Wednesday said that Nawaz Sharif should step down immediately as he had committed the offence of high treason by taking extra-constitutional measures, damaging the institutions of Judiciary and armed forces and because of his failure on all fronts. They said that if Nawaz did not resign, people would oust him. The demand was made at the end of a three-hour rally which started from Nawan Shehr Chowk and terminated at Daulat-Gate Chowk after passing through Abdali Road, Pul-Shawala, Bohar-Gate, Shaheen- Market, Haram-Gate, Pak-Gate, Khuni-Burj and Delhi-Gate. The rally was led by Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan (PDP), Imran Khan (PTI), Allama Tahir-ul-Qadri (PAT), Rao Sikandar Iqbal (PPP), Asfand Yar Wali (ANP), Mairaj Muhammad Khan (QMA), Khurshid Shah, Makhdoom Amin Faheem, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani (PPP) and Hamid Nasir Chattha (PML). The gathering was dominated by PDP and Awami Tehreek activists. The PPP and Tehrik-i-Insaf supporters were also in large number. Allama Tahir-ul-Qadri said the statement of the State Department regarding the role of armed forces in Pakistan was an interference in the country's internal affairs and an attack on the sovereignty, independence, prestige and security of Pakistan. He alleged that the Nawaz government was using police and law-enforcement agencies against the opposition. He said the electronic media was also being misused by the rulers for personal coverage. He said the higher courts should take notice of extra-constitutional steps of the PML government, particularly in Sindh, usurping of human rights, gagging the Press and negating the rights of expression. He said the government did not appoint the judges of the Supreme Court in the light of judgment of March 20, 1996. He further said that about 30,000 people were recruited on contract basis on the recommendations of MPAs and MNAs which was a violation of the Civil Services Act, 1976. Allama Tahir-ul-Qadri said that Punjab chief minister had ended the authority of the centre by inviting foreign investors directly to the Punjab. Tehrik-i-Insaf Chief Imran Khan said that the days of the present rulers were numbered. Now even the United States cannot save Nawaz, he said. He said that Nawaz Sharif was ready to accept the Indian hegemony in South Asia by signing the CTBT unilaterally. He said that corruption had increased while Nawaz wanted to sell out Pakistan like a sick unit and a sense of deprivation was developing among the smaller provinces. He ruled out the possibility of an in-house change. Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan enumerated the objective of the rally and said the massive turnout, inspite of scorching heat in Multan, had established that people did not want to see the PML government in power any more. GDA leaders ask Nawaz to step down immediately DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 02 October 1999 Issue : 05/40 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1999/02oct99.html

LONDON, Nov 17: Pakistan s cricketing legend Imran Khan said Sunday he had a great chance of becoming the country s next prime minister after announcing last week he would contest his country s general election. Khan said in an interview on BBC-television his Movement for Justice party would seek to rid Pakistan of corruption. Khan, whose party was founded six months ago, said: I believe we have a great chance - the reason being that the entire country wants a change. They ve seen these politicians over and over again coming to promise the Earth. When the time comes for election, they use any sort of slogan whether it is Islam, socialism, all sorts of slogans have been used and people have realised that their only ideology is self-interest. I think now we present an alternative of Pakistan people who are clean, who are professionals who are not professional politicians, but professionals who excelled in their own professions, Khan told the BBC. I think that s a better alternative in Pakistan - for the first time the people will have a choice. Khan said accountability should be conducted by the Supreme Court rather than parliamentary committees which protect each other. Corruption in Pakistan has reached a stage where everything is unworkable now, he said. It s impossible to conduct any business activity. Any investment coming in is stopped because of this enormous corruption. He added: Both parties are corrupt - so if one party is exposed or a member of one party is exposed, chances are that the others will be exposed too. AFP Our ISLAMABAD bureau adds: Tehreek-e-Insaf led by former cricket star Imran Khan has strongly condemn an attack by PPP workers on the party office in Karachi on Saturday. Such undemocratic behaviour is indeed reflective of the party leadership s undemocratic ethos, central information secretary of Tehreek Nasim Zahara told a press conference on Friday. She alleged that the Tehreek workers were being threatened and intimidated in Sindh. She ask the election commission of Pakistan to take note of these excesses and ensure protection of the life and property of all men and women involved in politics. Tehreek-e-Insaf believes that at a time when ethnic, sectarian and political violence is on the rise, it is foremost duty of political leaders to encourage tolerance in society, she added. Imran says he has great chance of becoming PM DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 21 November 1996 Issue : 02/47 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1996/21Nv96.html#imra

LONDON, May 25: After a week s stay in the UK, Imran Khan is returning to Pakistan on Sunday to resume the work of his party, the Tehreek-e-Insaf. He introduced the movement for reform, that he has initiated, to Pakistanis resident in the United Kingdom at a public gathering in London, when he explained his ten-point programme with a view to launching a political party after completing preparatory work. The Tehreek-e-Insaf founder was interviewed for British television. Last night in an interview with Sky television he was asked if he wanted to be prime minister of Pakistan. He replied: political power is the only way to bring about reform, so yes . Imran says he wants to be PM Athar Ali DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 30 May 1996 Issue : 02/22 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1996/30My96.html#imra

ISLAMABAD, Jan 1: Imran Khan, chief of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf, said here on Wednesday that his party would not boycott the forthcoming general election. Addressing a press conference at the outset of his election campaign in the federal capital from where he is contesting election, the PTI chief said his party would not boycott the poll under any circumstances, and added: Our party is against the postponement of elections. He, however, added that the Jamaat-i-Islami, which had boycotted the elections, had a valid point. Four governments in the past had been dismissed on the charge of corruption and it was wrong to go for fresh elections under the same system in which the same people again managed to come into the assemblies, PTI chief pointed out. Mr Khan also released a document called Mian Nawaz Sharif s plot plundering record . He claimed that, as chief minister, Punjab, Mr Sharif had caused a loss of Rs 5 billion to the Punjab treasury. He alleged that Mr Sharif had allotted plots worth Rs 5 billion as a political patronage, in violation of the law. According to Imran Khan s findings, Mr Sharif, as chief minister, Punjab, had allotted: 1,111 plots in various development schemes of LDA; 2,027 plots of Housing and Physical Planning Department of Punjab; about 147 plots, worth 150 million, to MNAs/MPAs, political leaders and other influential people; eight tracts of valuable land with costly timber trees in Murree; 27 mostly commercial and some community plots for residential purpose; 66 one-kanal plots against only 20 that were available for allotment in M.A. Jauhar Town scheme; and 45 one-kanal plots against 27 available in the Sabzazar Housing Scheme. Imran blames Nawaz for Rs5bn plot scandal DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 02 January 1997 Issue : 03/01 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1997/02Jan97.html#imra

ISLAMABAD, Oct 25: The government on Monday constituted the, much awaited, National Security Council( NSC) naming Sharifuddin Pirzada, Dr Mohammad Yaqub, Dr Attiya Inayatullah and Imtiaz
Sahibzada as its members. A three-member cabinet of ministers has also been announced comprising Abdus Sattar, Shaukat Aziz and Aziz A. Munshi. Sharifuddin Pirzada, who has served almost all the past military governments in Pakistan since Ayub Khan, has been named senior adviser to the chief executive and ex-officio member of the NSC. Dr Mohammad Yaqub is the second member of the council. During his tenure as the Governor of State Bank, spread over two terms of Nawaz Sharif and one of Benazir Bhutto, the rupee had tumbled by over 100 per cent, the budgetary deficits kept soaring sky high and the foreign currency accounts were frozen. He was brought to the SBP from IMF by the first Nawaz government. Dr Attiya Inayatullah, the third member of the NSC, besides being associated with the UN activities at very senior levels, has also served the military government of Gen Zia as a minister for social welfare and population control. Imtiaz Sahibzada, the fourth member of the NSC, is currently employed as the member of Federal Public Service Commission with one year's extension. He had retired as cabinet secretary in 1996-97. Former foreign secretary Abdus Sattar, who had served Moin Qureshi's caretaker government in 1993 as its foreign minister, has been given the same portfolio in the new cabinet. Mr Sattar had recently joined Imran Khan's Tehrik-i-Insaf and is believed to be a member of TI's central executive committee. He, therefore, is the first member of a political party to be recruited by the new military government. Mr Sattar is also known for drafting the Simla Agreement which was signed by Pakistan and India on Kashmir during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's tenure. Vice-president of Citibank, New York, Shaukat Aziz, has been given the portfolio of finance. He is expected to proceed on leave from his bank job to take up the new assignment in Pakistan. He is arriving here on Thursday from New York. Mr Aziz had also been informally giving advise on financial matters to the previous government of Nawaz Sharif. Aziz A. Munshi, who has been appointed as the attorney general of Pakistan, is a leading constitutional expert. Twice earlier, Munshi was appointed attorney general. Firstly during Zia-ul-Haq's tenure and later by the Nawaz Sharif's first government. He has served as a junior partner of Sharifuddin Pirzada in his law company for many years. According to an ISPR press release on the recommendations of Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf, President Mohammad Rafiq Tarar on Monday appointed the members of the National Security Council (NSC) and ministers for finance and foreign affairs. In his October 17 address Gen Pervez Musharraf had announced that the NSC, to be headed by the chief executive, will comprise six members. These members will be chief of naval staff, chief of air staff, a specialist each in legal, finance, foreign policy and national affairs. Sharifuddin Pirzada, the ex-officio member, has apparently been appointed for his expertise in legal and constitutional matters. Pirzada got prominence during the first military rule of Gen Ayub Khan when he was appointed as foreign minister after the sacking of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Pirzada had also served as attorney general as well as law minister of Pakistan during the military rule of Gen Zia. Pirzada had also served as secretary general of the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Conference). Four members of NSC, three ministers named M. Ziauddin DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 30 October 1999 Issue : 05/44 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1999/30oct99.html#four

LAHORE, May 5: Imran Khan, cricketer-turned social worker who is now trying to enter politics, on Sunday held government agencies responsible for the April 14 bomb blast at his cancer hospital and appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan to investigate the matter. At a news conference at the newly opened Scotch Corner office of his Tehrik-i-Insaaf, he maintained that since the government itself was involved in the blast it could not conduct an inquiry into the incident. Imran Khan released to the Press copies of the letter he has sent to the chief justice bringing to his notice the alleged violation of his fundamental rights and appealing to him to look into the issue. After the March 20 judgement on appointment of judges to superior courts, the Supreme Court was the only institution which could be expected to safeguard his rights, Imran Khan said. This is the first time that he has directly blamed the government for the blast in his hospital, although he had previously made insinuation to this effect. Imran alleged that intelligence agencies were tapping his telephones and one agency had even told him the exact conversation he had with a friend. The agencies, he added, kept him under surveillance when he was in Islamabad. He said these agencies were not meant to keep governments in power or to keep track of people not liked by the rulers. He suggested that there should be only one intelligence agency in the country. In his words, when Ms Bhutto was on friendly terms with him during martial law days, she was dead opposed to the intelligence agencies chasing her all the time. Imran holds agencies responsible for blast DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 09 May 1996 Issue : 02/19 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1996/09My96.html#imra

AT this stage of his political career, when he has just got off to an uncertain start, it is all too easy for Imran Khan to attract the cynicism of the drawing room classes. Quite apart from the fact that the staple commodity in which these classes deal is cynicism, Imran Khan has added grist to their mills by exposing himself to the charge of contradiction: saying things which sit uncomfortably with what he himself was practising (and practising with some panache) in the past. This may be an Islamic country but its common people have always been suspicious of preachers, which is why the so-called Islamic parties have always fared so badly at the polls. Last year when Imran Khan took to column-writing (an exercise he has mercifully forsaken) he sounded with his born-again Islam very much like a preacher. This grated on the public consciousness all the more when it was remembered that in London and elsewhere Imran Khan had won as much renown for his cricketing exploits as for his success how gently can I put this? as a playboy. Someone who is inordinately successful with the other sex leaves his fellow-men envious. To entertain feelings of envy for a famous Lothario is bad enough. But then to see the same person in the guise of a born-again evangelist is to test one s patience beyond the limits of human endurance. Imran Khan s Brown Sahib philosophy also made him vulnerable to the jibes of the drawing room classes. Here was as eminent a Brown Sahib as one could think of Atchison, Oxford and all the other right stops inveighing against something of which he was very much a part. Furthermore, some of his thoughts on the drawbacks of representative democracy, the virtues of a jirga system and the loss of national self-esteem as a result of our colonial experience gave the impression of naivete: of someone who was guilty of over-simplification. But one lives and learns. If people were to be judged only by what they had done or said once upon a time, few of us would ever Be saved. There was a time when I genuinely and sincerely considered the Daughter of the East as the answer to Pakistan s problems. If that were to be thrown in my face all the time, what hope would there be for me? Like other mortals Imran Khan too has gained from his experiences. It is no small cause for mercy that he has got over his preaching phase. He also seems to have learnt to be more discriminating about the company he keeps. I have a lot of respect for General Hamid Gul but having heard him expound his fanciful theories on a number of occasions I am convinced that no political enterprise in which he is involved can ever prosper. But all this should be behind Imran Khan. There is nothing more pointless than to live up to the prejudices of Pakistan s chattering classes who trade in cynicism and whose members hate nothing more than to see one of their own strike out on new paths of discovery. The Pakistani privilegentsia never forgave Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for speaking in an idiom (which is all he did) whose harsh sounds it did not like. The chattering classes are unlikely ever to forget Imran Khan s contradictions. This would matter if these classes were politically important. But for the kind of politics that Imran Khan is trying to practise they are totally irrelevant. Their support or opposition will not have any effect, one way or the other, upon the attitudes of ordinary people because the people have yet to discover anything about the chattering classes. Unless Imran has a masochistic streak in him he should keep the revivalist streak in him and his Brown Sahib philosophy under a close check because when he talks of these things, which are of absolutely no concern to the masses, he is merely giving the chattering classes a stick with which to beat him. Far better for Imran Khan to stress the other, more substantive part of his programme: the determination to strike at the roots of corruption; the need to eradicate the VIP culture which is stifling the nation and playing no small part in eating up its resources; and the need to give a more just and fair deal to the people. Whether Imran Khan is the person who can bring about these changes or infuse the Pakistani people with a fresh spirit or hope is something which can be open to debate. After all, there has been no shortage of do-gooders in Pakistan who have promised great things and then done their bit to add to the nation s problems. But about one thing there should be no dispute: at the present time Imran Khan with his Tehrik-i-Insaf is the only person on the national scene who is talking of issues of burning public concern and who, moreover, is doing so in a manner which can be expected to draw a public response. Imran Khan today stands for a movement whose aim is to eradicate corruption and give justice to the Pakistani people (by which presumably is meant the reform of the police and the criminal justice system because in the practical world, as opposed to the world of political rallies, it is only practical steps such as these that lead to practical results). This may sound like a woolly agenda but at least it is an agenda and it is something that the people can identify themselves with. Can anyone say what Benazir Bhutto stands for? If there is an election tomorrow what exactly will she fight it on? It is all very well to say that she is macro-managing the economy. But we have seen the fruits of macro-economic management harvested by the Congress-I in India. People are not impressed by hollow slogans which have little bearing on their real lives. Macro- management indeed when rampant inflation and an excessively high unemployment rate are giving an edge to public discontent.  Contrast this with high-level corruption and the spendthrift and ostentatious ways of the governing classes, and we have a situation which is crying out for some kind of deliverance. If Benazir stands for nothing but more of the same, what does Mian Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N stand for? It is true that Nawaz Sharif by his defiance of Ghulam Ishaq Khan, and subsequently by dint of sheer energy, has built a popular constituency for himself and given the Muslim League (for the first time since 1947-49) a mass political base. But can anyone answer with any certainty as to what Mian Nawaz Sharif will do, what are the reforms he will carry out, if he again comes to power? Will Pakistan be cleaned of corruption? Will a new political morality hold sway over the country? Will nepotism come to an end and will jobs be given only on the basis of merit? Will the country s political masters realise that there is something called a conflict of interests whereby it is not considered seemly for public officials to use their official positions to further their private advantage? Ask any Muslim League stalwart as to what his party is doing or will do in the future and he will say we are trying to save the country. Edifying as this answer may be, it is not very helpful in trying to figure out the nuts and bolts of the Muslim League's programme. In any case, it is a refrain heard loudly during the last few years that there is nothing fundamental which distinguishes the PPP and the Muslim League. They are chips off the same block: mouthing the same slogans and being represented by people whose class and political background is the same. If tomorrow there is a change of government, a different set of people will come to power. But in what other respects will the situation change? or does the Muslim League have some programmatic aces up its sleeves that the rest of the nation has yet to discover? This is a situation in which another alternative is badly needed. Left with no other choice, the people will vote either for the PPP or the Muslim League. But it should be apparent even to the most obtuse amongst us that the people are not  enthused by these choices. If they were to have an alternative to what is in effect a bipartisan dictatorship of mediocrity, the chances cannot be ruled out that they would plump for it. There may be many things wrong with Imran Khan the messenger. But there cannot be much quarrel with his message. Scan the political horizon from one end to the other and it will be obvious that today if anyone stands for change it is him. He is talking of things which the other politicos are not. And he is talking of things which touch the real concerns of ordinary people. After all, what is at issue is the VIP state whose perks and privileges will be the death of Pakistan. If anyone with the right brand name and image (an important consideration in politics) has entered the lists against this monster, it is Imran Khan. As I say, he may have many shortcomings (who of us does not?) but then he must be credited with entering the political arena at the right time and with saying just the right things. Through his cricketing career and later through his cancer hospital he has given sufficient proof of his determination. It would be foolish to underestimate such a man. Imran and the cynicism of the chattering classes Ayaz Amir DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 16 May 1996 Issue : 02/20 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1996/16My96.html#

KARACHI, May 13: Former cricket hero Imran Khan said on Monday that his newly-formed Tehrik-i-Insaf (Movement for Justice) after organising itself into a political party would purge the country s political system after sweeping national elections in 1998. It would also end perks to politicians like foreign medical treatment and abolish VIP lounges at the country s airports, he said. Mr Khan criticised Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto s recent CNN interview and said the situation in the country was completely different from what she was telling the international media. Anyone in the country can see there is corruption everywhere and yet the Prime Minister tells CNN there is no corruption. Nobody is fooled by these stories, he said. I know it s [politics] a really difficult task. I expect that the young people of the country will be in the forefront of this movement because they feel helpless and frustrated at what they see being done to the country s resources by the ruling elite, he said. I don t understand why the government spends so much money on expensive Mercedes and huge state-owned palaces when the country s social indicators are ranked among the lowest by the UN. The small ruling class which your tax money puts up never sends its children to government schools, never goes to a government hospital for treatment. Only if they waited in long lines like everybody else at government offices would they realise how bad it is for ordinary citizens, he said. Mr Khan said a team was at work on a comprehensive party constitution, and manifesto was already under way. He declined to give any specific names of people who might have already become involved in the Tehrik. These are names most people wouldn t know of because they are part of the silent majority. But let me tell you, they are people who can deliver.  Mr Khan said overseas Pakistanis several of whom he had met during the Shaukat Khanum hospital s fund-raising were another group which wanted to use its immense talent and economic clout to invest in the country but had always been discouraged by the corruption they faced here . Tehrik will end all  VIP perks if comes to power DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 16 May 1996 Issue : 02/20 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1996/16My96.html#tehr

NEW YORK, April 2: Cricket superstar Imran Khan will announce his entry into the political arena of Pakistan in Lahore, on April 21, the birth anniversary of Allama Iqbal, a highly informed sources close to Mr Khan told Dawn. The source said the ex-captain of Pakistan cricket team, has been pushed and cajoled into entering the foray by his well-wishers and Pakistanis abroad, who are willing to fund his campaign, to end the rampant lawlessness and corruption in the country. Mr Khan, who was in Dubai last week meeting Pakistani businessmen to test the waters for funding his political movement, has been given assurances of financial support by wealthy Pakistanis living in the United States. In an interview with the New York Times, Imran Khan indicated that he would form his own political party on a platform promising a crackdown on corruption. He feels that the United States is perhaps backing the wrong horse in the hope that it would hold off Muslim fundamentalism in Pakistan. He believes that Pakistani people s concern about lawlessness and corruption is at the core of the so-called Islamic fundamentalist movement in Pakistan. Most Pakistanis here feel that neither Ms Bhutto or her main rival Mian Nawaz Sharif, are capable of ending the scourge of corruption. The foreign media in Washington and New York has caught on to Mr Khan s ambitions and their interest in him and his wife Jemima has grown. Several Pakistani correspondents in the United States have been approached by the American media seeking to develop connections to interview the couple. When pointed out that perhaps the extraordinary interest shown in Imran Khan could be due to Ms Jemima s family connections, most here dismiss it, saying We know Imran Khan can deliver. He can strive to wipe out corruption and lawlessness which continues to undermine the integrity of the country. Imran Khan to enter politics this month Masood Haider DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 04 April 1996 Issue : 02/14 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1996/04Ap96.html#imra

TOBA TEK SINGH, July 12: The PPP high command has released a booklet Talking Points to counter anti-PPP remarks by Imran Khan. The PPP workers have been provided with such booklets. The booklet said: Imran Khan s cancer hospital was built with almost 90 per cent support of the government. The government contribution, included Rs 50 million donated by Mr Nawaz Sharif when he was in office, price free land in Lahore donated by Mr Nawaz Sharif, a medical camera worth more than US $2 million donated by a public
sector organisation during the Benazir Bhutto s government, and tax concession amounting to Rs 300-400 million for import of machinery given by the Benazir government. Free tickets were also given by PIA for fund raising efforts. It was only after eminent social worker Sattar Edhi alleged that Imran Khan wanted to rope him into an extra-constitutional overthrow of the Benazir government that the government stopped its support, the booklet says. It also claims that Imran Khan has never explained how many private patients are treated at full cost and how many patients are treated free at his cancer hospital nor has be explained why the cost is astronomically higher in his hospital than in government-owned hospitals. Regarding television advertising, the booklet says while Imran Khan complaints that the PTV does not allow ads for his hospital, he fails to mention that he was allowed ads on TV during and before the Benazir government. The ads were disallowed only after the Edhi episode. Imran Khan never refers to the PTV policy of not allowing ads to political parties or individuals in the name of a social cause. According to the booklet, Imran Khan says that he is against the VIP culture. Yet he insists on using the VIP lounge at airports, travels first class, holds his Press conferences in five-star hotels and drives expensive cars and jeeps. No-one would mind all this if Imran Khan did not lecture others on simplicity, the booklet says. PPP issues booklet to counter Imran Tariq Saeed DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 18 July 1996 Issue : 02/29  http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1996/18Jl96.html#pppi