A spectacular failure to achieve the ill-defined destructive goals of “Project Imran” and a frightening creation of the fascist force leading to sociopolitical fragmentation mean Pakistan is now in a vortex. The current scenario limits its ability to tackle a plethora of challenges which are already complicated by the elements associated with Imran Khan, the incarcerated PTI founding chairman.

We need to find a solution because it has been nurtured as a social phenomenon. You can’t just wait and see. Procrastination is a national habit, but this approach has always produced devastating results by worsening the state of affairs.

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So, what is the problem?

The mindset groomed and solidified into a cult called the PTI has penetrated deep into the society and the state, requiring an urgent action which is already delayed for the reasons that must be explained. It only represents either a wrong belief that the things would eventually return to normal or a strategy that society should remain divided.

Ironically, this projection of the playboy cricketer came at a time when the newscasters were forced to wear headscarves “dupatta” on their heads.

But just like any other issue or disease, treatment requires a proper diagnosis to understand its origins.

THE FANTASY:

Imran Khan was presented as a poster boy by Ziaul Haq to promote a soft image at a time when he was radicalizing the society through an unending Islamization process. Hindsight suggests Zia was absolutely right and deserves recognition for his selection – not policies and actions – as Imran Khan proved to be a wonderful choice for advocating the cause of extremists and attracting the modernized urban upper middle and middle classes thanks to the backing of elite.

Ironically, this projection of the playboy cricketer came at a time when the newscasters were forced to wear headscarves “dupatta” on their heads, while the male and female actors in dramas kept a two-feet distance between themselves on PTV – the sole TV channel at that time.

Before moving forward, an example should be shared both on a lighter and serious note since it explains why we are here. It was the same period when Michael Jackson became a global star. However, we were barred from becoming a part of this process, as Zia persisted with imposing extremist thoughts not only through laws but also formal and informal education. Our heroes were all armed and were riding a horse while we lived in the 20th century. We had no room for anything related to the good old Industrial Revolution, forget about postmodernity.

As we missed the train, we were also not ready to take advantage of the globalization triggered by the fall of Berlin Wall and the dismemberment of the USSR after the death of Zia in a plane crash on Aug 17, 1988. Oh Gosh! We have missed so many trains since August 14, 1947.

Let’s come back to Imran Khan now.

Once you are in a limelight, you obviously become an attraction. The paucity of heroes in sports, music and other performing arts meant that Imran Khan had been developed into the only choice during 1980s and 90s.

Just imagine if we had access to Michael Jackson or produced our own versions of Michael Jackson, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Emma Thompson, Sharon Stone, Jodie Foster, Julia Roberts, or Meryl Streep.

Things would have been certainly different had we not faced this worst form of social engineering, as we opted for mainstreaming religious extremism.

We can find the origins of Imran Khan as a cricketer-cum-politician in the posh localities of Lahore and Islamabad.

It is in this backdrop that on March 25, 1992, when Pakistan won the ICC World Cup – an event that enabled the producers like Lt-Gen (R) Hameed Gul to cement Imran Khan’s case as a savior against the two “evils” – the Bhutto of Larkana and the Sharifs of Lahore. Afterall, Qazi Hussain Ahmed had failed miserably in the PIF (Pakistan Islamic Front) project – an attempt to replicate Algeria’s Islamic Salvation Front (PIF) – in the 1993 elections. The failure was so huge that the Jamaat-e-Islami hasn’t been unable to recover from the loss, resulting in its decline in electoral politics despite a huge boost given by the MMA – an alliance of religio-political parties formed in 2002.

THE ORIGIN:

Once you are in limelight, you are a star. In this case, Imran Khan was the only available star, as the playing field had been levelled in his favor. Thus, a romance began between the elite and Imran Khan, which was reinforced by their hate towards democracy.

That’s why we can find the origins of Imran Khan as a cricketer-cum-politician in the posh localities of Lahore and Islamabad. He met all of their conditions – an Oxford-educated man who speaks English fluently and doesn’t look desi [native] while partying with the British elite as a playboy.

And they found a natural ally in the shape of upper middle class which was a direct product of the economic system and also a beneficiary of globalization just like the elite, meaning that they had similar social and political views.

However, the circle expanded given that Pakistan’s urban middle classes, generally also have anti-democracy leanings and are religious in nature – in total contrast to the what we see in the developed world or in other developing countries.

Now, we must identify the reasons responsible for this trend.

THE EXPANSION:

Imran Khan’s influence among the paradoxical and hypocritical urban classes of all sorts is rooted in their social alienation and influence of the Islamization process. They found a messiah who represented their contradictions – modern but also a bigot, westernized lifestyles but also championing the cause of pseudo conservative cultural values, eulogizing the West for personal freedoms but also promoting fascism, calling for uprooting the system but also being its direct beneficiary, pleading the case for punishing the corrupt but also having a solid bond with the corrupt, so on and so forth.

Imran Khan’s influence among the paradoxical and hypocritical urban classes of all sorts is rooted in their social alienation and influence of the Islamization process.

It was a fascinating deal that offered everything to everyone. But again, the social alienation and the desire to become part of the affluent classes made them follow the rules and plans set by those living in the poshest of the posher neighborhoods of Lahore and Islamabad.

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One can’t miss the irony that the urban middle and upper middle classes – especially the professionals – complain about the corrupt system and the corrupt politicians, but are one of the most corrupt themselves. A cursory look at the FBR record will speak for themselves.

This hate towards democracy and admiration of the repressive cultural values – like Jirga and panchayat experienced by those living in rural and backward areas – for one reason or the other stem from the fact that Pakistan’s urban middle and upper middle classes are not a product of industrialization. By the time this article was being written, we are a still quasi-feudal, quasi-tribal society.

It leads us to a conclusion that there seems to be some serious problems with the educated and wealthy urban classes which are supposed to lead social transformation anywhere in the world. And the absence of a real generation gap in Pakistan’s society summarizes the state of affairs.

Yes! Pakistan has never really a generation gap, as one generation after another is transmitting the same old values and thus the same worldview to the younger minds.

Here an example should suffice. A study conducted by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) says 98.5% of the respondents had parents who are linguistically homogenous. We are not leaving the same old caste and creed practices.

And the PIDE study also show that “ethnic exogamy is more prevalent in urban Pakistan (1.9%) than rural” and “a slightly increasing trend for ethnic exogamy is observed with increasing education and income levels”.

Pakistan has never really a generation gap, as one generation after another is transmitting the same old values and thus the same worldview to the younger minds.

All these things prove why the urban educated classes prefer and admire Imran Khan who has the distinction of justifying and promoting social repression. Yes! He is the only one. Not a single political leader, and that too in mainstream politics, has ever pleaded the case for Jirga and panchayat. Not even any feudal or tribal leader had ever dared to do so in national politics.

Ask any of the Imran Khan’s supporter having an urban background about his or her views on Jirga and panchayat. He or she will endorse the leader while rejecting the very possibility of becoming part of the same cultural practices.

Someone with the same background once opined that there is nothing called forced marriage. We can list as a forced marriage only if a woman is ordered to marry against her will at gunpoint. These expert views shared by a multiple degree-holder woman are enough to explain a complete lack of knowledge about the dynamics of traditional society. It also shows what they think about the ordinary people.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan’s urban supporters also have favorable views about the Taliban.

Wait! But Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a stronghold of Imran Khan. How can one explain this phenomenon when it is the urban elite who introduced the idea of Imran Khan as the savior and others living in the cities followed the course? Doesn’t it mean the story narrated above is baseless?

No, it isn’t, unfortunately. It only reflects the wider audience Imran Khan has due to his contradictions.

THE PAKHTUNS:

You shouldn’t be surprised by the acceptance enjoyed by Imran Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because it is a result of sociopolitical process which started with the Afghan jihad in 80s.

So, here is the story. The Afghan jihad meant creation of Mujahideen and the required mindset in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – along with the parts of north western Balochistan – as the project necessitated the involvement of Pakhtuns. It required a network of large and small madrassas. Although the same exercise was repeated in other parts of the country, the mutual affiliation among the Pashto-speaking population on both sides of the border affected Pakhtuns the most.

Initially, the religious parties represented this mindset at the political level. However, years of indoctrination started weakening the nationalist forces and national political parties in the province, previously known as NWFP. But the lack of appealing leadership allowed other political parties to enter the assemblies and form governments till 1990s, as this mindset hadn’t been congealed politically so far.

However, the MMA presented the first opportunity for vote consolidation in 2002. This electoral alliance comprising religio-political parties was able to form government on its own after winning 48 out of 98 seats while five independents also joined its ranks.

Five years of the MMA government in the province produced an environment where this mindset further flourished and started getting mainstreamed in the province.

Although the 2008 elections saw ANP leading the coalition provincial government, the Taliban terrorists targeted the party leaders and workers for their views during the period 2008-13. It is claimed that the ANP lost around 700 leaders and workers despite being in the government, as the erstwhile FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – the erstwhile NWFP renamed during the same period – faced the brunt of terrorism.

The full-fledged launch of Project Imran meant that a political force was being raised which wasn’t on the Taliban’s radar before the 2013 elections.

One of the reasons behind the MNA’s failure in 2008 was the imminent return of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto to power in Islamabad. However, she was martyred before the people could go to polls. At the same time, the religio-political parties were on an overall decline in electoral politics, as they remained unable to ensure a sustainable expansion their hardcore support base.

However, the full-fledged launch of Project Imran meant that a political force was being raised which wasn’t on the Taliban’s radar before the 2013 elections. While political leaders and workers of other parties – ANP, PPP and PML-N – restricted their activities due to constant threats, the PTI was slowly allowed to fill this vacuum. In this scenario, the things reached a point when the PTI wiped out others in 2018. Another case of levelling the playing field for one and only Imran Khan.

Also read: Populism Or Fascism? How Imran Khan’s Vendetta is Shaking Pakistan

It is in this backdrop Imran Khan emerged as a leader with the full backing of the power circles. This section of the society recognized him as an individual who praised and advocated the case of those influenced by the jihad process. Imran Khan is the culmination of a process that also led to the shrinking appeal of JUI-F as Jamaat-e-Islami because of the religious symbols used by him.

THE MODEL:

In honest retrospection, one can easily see that we as a people have tried to avoid addressing the basic question: how should we deal with extremism?

This denial obviously produced an approach that pushed us towards creating an environment when anything resembling to reasoning is blasphemous. Hence, we instead of reversing the social fragmentation caused by the unchecked spread of extremist thoughts, maintain the status quo. In fact, we even allowed entities like the TLP to prop up at a time when we were engaged in fighting the TTP and other terrorist organizations.

Therefore, we still somehow find a solution in Zakir Naik – a preacher who openly advocates the views similar to that of the Taliban and Al Qaeda – as a role model. Therefore, the rise of Imran Khan was a natural consequence of the continuous process.

Societies aren’t machines that can be operated from a dashboard. Once you unleash a social force, you can’t push a button to place it back in some storage room or change it automatically.

But who could be the model?

Honest answer? The very people we regularly contact for financial assistance – Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

One doesn’t need to go into the details of how the UAE has worked over the last five decades to develop as a society which is open socially with zero tolerance for extremism.

However, the transformation of Saudi Arabia under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is even more interesting case, as he has bulldozed the forces that could hamper the process.

THE SOLUTION:

One has to admit first that the extremism has been Pakistan’s main problem which the Imran Khan factor complicated by mainstreaming a brand of politics mixing fascism, extremism and terrorism. There is no other choice but to reprioritize the goals and select a model.

After you have chosen a model, the next step is to devise a plan to achieve the objectives according to your particular ground realities. The solution in our case is painful because you cannot move forward without extracting the destructive mindset from both the society and the state.

For the long-term changes, the education system as a whole with a particular focus on curriculum needs a complete overhaul. Students must know about their geography and [actual] history as well as the modern world and the socioeconomic changes that produced the North-South divide. They require complete understanding of the historical developments, leading to the developed West.

Pakistan immediately needs is a “purge” so that elements promoting extremism and associated with the views upheld by Imran Khan are systematically removed from all institutions.

At the same time, science should be our focus, but the scientific minds need critical thinking. So, lift the blanket ban imposed on reasoning and make development of critical thinking a prerequisite for schooling from an early age.

However, what Pakistan immediately needs is a “purge” so that elements promoting extremism and associated with the views upheld by Imran Khan are systematically removed from all institutions, including media and education. The suggestion may seem harsh and unrealistic, but the fact remains that you won’t move forward unless drastic steps are not taken, as these elements would sabotage every move both at the societal and state levels.

For this purpose, one can take a leaf out of the McCarthyism or even the Stalinist Purges. The two historical examples are certainly not good ones; however, using the same techniques for a better cause is not a bad idea.

All we need is to set goals that can make Pakistan part of the global journey towards integration and progress, especially when the two Gulf States – Saudi Arabia and the UAE – are leading the unprecedented transformative changes in the region. Staying in the vicious circle would be our own choice, blaming others won’t serve any purpose. Just don’t miss another train.