Imran Khan: Who writes the script for the Pakistan icon?

Who writes the script for Imran Khan? This is the question I was asking myself when the deposed Prime Minister of Pakistan and the World Cup-winning captain survived an assassination attempt on him at Wazirabad on Thursday.

 The attempt on Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) undisputed supremo has led to widespread shock and condemnation throughout the country, while in effect, it acts as just another chapter in the volatile and often bloody political history of Pakistan. The circumstances were eerily similar to the assassination scene of Benazir Bhutto, who was also riding the crest of wave as an opposition leader in 2007.

 There has been never quite a dull moment in the extraordinary life of Imran. In a chequered political career, which got underway in 1996 with his launching of the PTI, Imran had possibly seen everything – barring the assassination attempt – though he had often alleged about attempts being made on his life.

When he eventually realised his dream of becoming the Prime Minister in 2018 after a struggle of over 22 years, Khan had already been subjected to numerous house arrests, seen his party grow from drawing a blank in the first elections they fought in 1997 to assuming power in the country.

 It’s debatable if he over-promised on assuming the hot seat, but Imran did succeed in breaking the hegemony of the two most influential families of his country – the Bhuttos and Sharifs.  In his book Pakistan: A Personal History, Khan minced no words as he dwelt at length on what brought him into politics after retiring from cricket: ‘’Both Bhutto and Sharif had been in power once each and it had become blatantly obvious that their predominant interest was in amassing personal wealth and holding onto office by stifling opposition through any means. Neither had any vision for the country, as clearly manifested by their total lack of interest in investing in human capital.’’

Political rhetoric? Could be, but the fact remains that Imran did not need to do this – being fully aware of the enormity of the task in the eco system of his country. Then in early ‘40s, Khan had just led his country to a historic World Cup triumph – while his penchant for the hi-life and his charisma among the women admirers had been a stuff of legend. A life of ‘hedonism,’ as the man himself admitted in his book, which apparently began to change as he started gravitating towards spiritualism and his dream project of Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital began taking up a lot of his time. 

 As someone who enjoyed such a larger-than-life image in Pakistan, a plunge into politics seemed a natural recourse for Imran – and looking back – his biggest plus despite being in the public life more than 25 years had been the financial integrity. However, there’s no mistaking the inherent contradictions in the man – right from his acceptance speech after winning the ICC World Cup at the Melbourne in 1992, which clearly betrayed a self-before-team obsession after the team famously fought as ‘caged tigers.’

His personal life had been always under intense scrutiny – right from the divorce with Jemima Goldsmith – to the shortlived marriage with Reham Khan who chose to wash a lot of dirty linen in public in her autobiography prior to the 2018 elections. Reham, a former journalist, painted a rather vile picture of Imran – calling him a womaniser, cocaine user and having fathered illegitimate children. 

 Dwelling at length on his separation with Jemima, Imran said in his book: ‘’People often ask me why I didn’t go to London to save our relationship (with Jemima) but it was never an option. I could never imagine living in London, just making a living out of cricket journalism. For me that would have been a purposeless existence. I cannot even imagine life without a passion and a purpose; once I had cricket, now I have my political struggle…,’’

 It’s a fact that Imran Khan has lived many lives so far. At 70, he is surely in with a chance to assume the Prime Ministerial chair again at the turnstiles of power in Pakistan – though the odds will again be stacked against him. But then, the original ‘King Khan’ will fancy his chances of a last hurrah on the political pitch – much like his swan song at the Melbourne!