• About Us
  • The TFT Story
  • Team
  • Write for TFT
  • Online advertisement tariff
  • Donate To Us
Thursday, August 11, 2022
  • Home
  • Editorials
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Videos
  • Citizens’ Voice
  • Lifestyle
  • Editor’s Picks
  • Good Times
  • More
    • About Us
    • Team
    • Write for TFT
    • The TFT Story
    • Donate To Us
  • Home
  • Editorials
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Videos
  • Citizens’ Voice
  • Lifestyle
  • Editor’s Picks
  • Good Times
  • More
    • About Us
    • Team
    • Write for TFT
    • The TFT Story
    • Donate To Us
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Analysis

A Meeting With Imran Khan, 8 Years Later – By Javed Chaudhry

From an article written on 7 July 2022

TFT Special by TFT Special
July 14, 2022
in Analysis, Diary, Perspective
A Meeting With Imran Khan, 8 Years Later – By Javed Chaudhry
208
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

I can tell from my 30 years of experience that you have different people as friends when you are leading the government, as opposed to when you are an opposition leader. When you are an opposition leader and the streets are your refuge, you require rebellious, selfless, neutral, brave but emotional and foolish people. But as soon as you take the reins of power, your preferences change – and so do your friends.

Then, you need those who praise you, and this kind of people are specialists at what they do. As soon as they reach the corridors of power, they dig a trench around the prime minister and his ministers, and push the emotional and foolish lot to the other side of it.

The specialists multiply with time and take over the entire presidential palace in a matter of days. They serve as the ears, nose, eyes and senses of the prime minister, the president or the army chief, till such time as they eat up all power. That is what happened in 2014.

But as they say, the past is a dead body, and we can’t move forward until we bury it. So, Imran Khan and I buried it on the 4th of July this year. I went to meet him at Bani Gala after eight years and I got to spend an hour with him.

As usual, Imran was emotional and in high spirits. I felt that the ex-premier now knew the weightage and effect that his words could carry.

As the conversation started, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman began to ‘spill the beans.’

 

Accountability

“We wanted accountability, but our hands were tied. The chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) used to take orders from somewhere else,” Imran claimed.

“Whenever I talked to him about Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto and Karachi’s corruption cases, I was asked to remove Usman Buzdar in Punjab,” he added.

“And I told them that Punjab and Buzdar are not the issue, the issue is Karachi, the financial capital and we have to clean it,” he maintained.

When asked why he didn’t remove Punjab chief minister, he replied, “There were three groups in Punjab and none of them wanted a CM from a rival group, so they had a consensus on Buzdar serving.”

He continued: “I knew that the moment I removed Buzdar, Punjab will face the same situation that it is facing now.”

 

Rifts with the Establishment

“You used to be the establishment’s favorite politician. Where did it go wrong?” I asked.

“The first difference of opinion was at the time of the US pullout from Afghanistan. Our institutions thought that the war would drag on for at least a year.”

“The second instance,” he added, “was when rumours were strife about General Faiz Hameed. I had never thought about appointing him as the next army chief. But the rumours soon turned into a wall of misunderstanding.”

“Third, the ‘Neutrals’ used to think of Shehbaz Sharif as some super genius. I tried to tell them that handing over power to these looters will destroy the economy, and that’s what happened,” Imran said.

 

Also Read:

Could Escalation On Taiwan Bring About A Ukraine In The Pacific?

Damages & Apologies: How UK Courts Cracked ARY

The regime’s fall

I asked the former premier: “What happened on the night of April 10?”

He replied, “We received a few telephone calls. I took the approval from the Cabinet to declassify the cipher and met the [TV] anchors. When I entered the prime minister’s house, I felt a chaos. Speaker Asad Qaiser was unable say a word.”

Imran added, “I told him to stand firm, but he caved in on one call and it was followed by a successful no-trust vote. Otherwise, we had decided to drag the assembly proceedings for four more days.”

 

The way forward

I asked, “What do you see happening in the days to come?” and he replied that the country would default sans elections. “Only a fresh mandate can save Pakistan. This regime will only take the country backwards.”

Then I asked, “How can the country be brought back on track?” and his response was: “Only by making sure that the premier has all the powers, or else there will be a stalemate.”

“Who is responsible for the prevailing situation?” I asked, and Imran Khan replied: “Only one individual,” and the meeting ended.

Tags: sharifPoliticsriggingPakistanelectionsteamjavedgovernmentmeetingpeopleneutralschaudhryimrankhanshehbaz
Previous Post

SC Detailed Verdict On No-Confidence Vote Termed ‘Strong Indictment’ Of PTI’s ‘Regime Change’ Narrative

Next Post

Bail On Fast-Track For Suspected Attackers: Absar Alam Says ‘Someone Powerful’ Behind It

TFT Special

TFT Special

Next Post
Bail On Fast-Track For Suspected Attackers: Absar Alam Says ‘Someone Powerful’ Behind It

Bail On Fast-Track For Suspected Attackers: Absar Alam Says 'Someone Powerful' Behind It

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent News

Raw Pakistani Talent At The Commonwealth Games

August 11, 2022
Could Escalation On Taiwan Bring About A Ukraine In The Pacific?

Could Escalation On Taiwan Bring About A Ukraine In The Pacific?

August 11, 2022
Many K-P Areas Being Handed Over To Taliban: Dawar

Many K-P Areas Being Handed Over To Taliban: Dawar

August 10, 2022

Twitter

Donate To Us

Subscribe
The Friday Times – Naya Daur

THE TRUTH WILL OUT


The Friday Times is Pakistan’s first independent weekly, founded in 1989. In 2021, the publication went into collaboration with digital news platform Naya Daur Media to publish under a daily cycle.


Social Media

Latest News

  • All
  • News
  • Editorials
  • Features
  • Analysis
  • Lifestyle

Raw Pakistani Talent At The Commonwealth Games

by Junaid Jahangir
August 11, 2022
0

“The market undercuts community, atomises the family and...

Could Escalation On Taiwan Bring About A Ukraine In The Pacific?

Could Escalation On Taiwan Bring About A Ukraine In The Pacific?

by Osama Ahmad
August 11, 2022
0

The recent visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi—speaker...

Social Feed

  • About Us
  • The TFT Story
  • Team
  • Write for TFT
  • Online advertisement tariff
  • Donate To Us

© 2022 All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Editorials
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Videos
  • Citizens’ Voice
  • Lifestyle
  • Editor’s Picks
  • Good Times
  • More
    • About Us
    • Team
    • Write for TFT
    • The TFT Story
    • Donate To Us

© 2022 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist