For a decade Imran Khan has occupied the hinterland, if not quite the wilderness, of Pakistani politics. The cricket legend has won just one seat in parliament — his own — and been scorned by critics as a celebrity windbag at best and a Taliban sympathizer at worst.
However, on Sunday Khan dramatically transformed his standing at a stroke, bursting onto the national stage with an impressive show of street power that jolted Pakistan’s largest parties and turned received wisdom on its head.
At least 100,000 people gathered to hear Khan issue a rousing call to political “revolution” spiced with strident denunciations of government corruption.
Photo: EPA
“Declare your assets or face the wrath of the people,” he shouted, drawing roars of approval, in the largest rally for decades in Lahore, Pakistan’s political heartland.
The crowd reflected the vein that Khan has tapped — young, urban and mostly educated Pakistanis who have grown disillusioned by the chaotic politicking and inept governance of the traditional political elite.
“It’s an activation of the upper middle class — people who, over the years, haven’t had a voice in Pakistani politics,” political analyst Mosharraf Zaidi said.
In contrast Khan enjoys a reputation for being incorruptible and straight-talking, polished by a glint of fame. Also in Lahore was his ex-wife Jemima Khan, who remains a supporter, and Jennifer Robinson, a London media lawyer whose clients include WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
“Yes we Khan,” she tweeted.
The rally set the political scene abuzz; “Imran’s Lahore rally stuns opponents” read the headline in Dawn. However, large questions loom about whether he can transform his acclaim into power.
Despite his claims of a “revolution” against Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Khan is more likely to hurt Nawaz Sharif, the opposition leader who considers Lahore his political base. Sunday’s rally crowned a wave of smaller yet well-attended rallies across the surrounding Punjab Province over the past three months. National elections are not scheduled until 2013, although a midterm Senate election next March has caused the political temperature to soar.
Khan has been controversial. He supported former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf’s coup in 1999, sided with Islamist mullahs and, in 2009, opposed an army operation against the Taliban in the Swat valley, arguing it was better to talk than fight.
In recent years he has steadily built his popularity among young Pakistanis, capitalizing on disillusionment with political corruption and anger at US drone strikes in the tribal belt.
His Lahore rally echoed many of those themes. Pakistan wanted “independence, not slavery” in its relations with the US, he said, before announcing that he would be leaving for China hours later.
“I am leaving at the invitation of the Chinese government. Friendship with them will be pursued to the fullest,” he said.
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