F Scott Fitzgerald had famously said, “There are no second acts in American lives”. Yet, though not ever so often, a mediocre actor can go on to become president of the United States, indeed one of its greatest ever by most reckonings.
But the rest, after that one hit wonder, are condemned to a life so pitiably wretched when the dream of other shots at glory go unrealised. And the rest of their lives are spent to replay the mere semblance of what once was. This desperation can border on the neurotic. This is perhaps why ‘Type A’ personalities end up being manic depressives after their heyday.
Does Imran Khan fit the bill of a neurotic so desperately tilting at the windmills for his place in the sun again – a third triumph to eclipse his remarkable two in the realm of cricket and philanthropy, extending it to education?
Let’s go back on how he handled his cricket and his philanthropic ventures.
And why is it that despite personal charisma and rhetoric that resonates with people he has not been similarly successful in politics?
What is it that that made him tick in cricket made him standout tall and majestic even amongst his most outstanding contemporaries? A penchant for hard work, ever learning, ever searching, ever thinking about the game and working at it – making it his single-minded obsession to excel. Despite starting out as a sifarshi, following the coattails of Majid Khan, he soon established himself as an all-rounder par excellence and became the heartthrob of the cricketing world. From thereon, his natural aggression, intuitive spotting of talent and fearlessly backing it, and his own exploits on the field (with his off-field ‘trophies’ only adding to his legend and aura) captaincy and the success he made of it was indeed a piece of cake for him. If he missed out on anything, the irrepressible Javed Miandad and ever reliable Mudassar Nazar, inarguably the most unsung of Pakistan’s cricketing heroes, had the pluck to politely remind him.
With such personal attributes and such support to lean on, though he had a few setbacks here and there, mostly one high led to another culminating at the very acme in 1992.
In philanthropy and lately in education, Imran has again been outstanding – building much-admired centres of excellence in Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and the Namal University. And to these, he gave his persona and absolute backing but other than providing the lead ensuring that the best professionals ran these institutions, he abdicated. And maybe they are better off because Imran knew his limitations and held himself back.
In the backdrop of such remarkable achievements in two realms, nearly 15 years in politics and his scorecard is nothing much to write home about. Just winning his one seat only once from his father’s home town is not much of a record for someone who aspires to change the destiny of his nation – transforming it from a client, rentier state into a proud, self-confident and prosperous one, just as he had in cricket.
Imran had his moments, not too many though, but despite his undeniable charisma, making the right kind of noises about corruption and lack of justice, and being indefatigable, he has lacked the natural deftness of a politician. And not realising the virtue of organisation at all tiers that could deliver at the hustings has meant that while Imran has run from pillar to post, PTI has not been able to make much of a mark.
And after a decade and a half’s running around, he is so anxious for and fixated with power that he would not hesitate into getting sponsorship from the puppeteers whose political engineering has not bode well for the polity and its growth in this country.
Whatever Imran’s camp followers and his many admirers say in his defence, Imran’s recent volte-face on Altaf Hussain and Chaudhry Shujaat does not corroborate with his previous assessment about the two. And the timing of his much-publicised sit-in in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa quite snugly fits in with the anti-drone, anti- no-holds-barred CIA operations in this country of the establishment’s public stance also reflects that he has no qualms about dancing to someone else’s tune as long as this someone else draws enough strength in the form of aligning the right behind him to catapult him to a position of power.
But then, despite his being financially incorruptible (no small thing this) where is the difference between him and the rest, whom Imran has over the years treated with such scorn?
The writer is Sports and Magazines Editor, Pakistan Today.
