Namal University, Another Landmark by ‘Taliban’ Khan

its not as if there is a shortage of universities in Pakistan, or is there?? ... there are literally stacks of them everywhere, public, private, you name it .... they are churning out people with qualifications but with no ability to think! ... they are (traditionally) taught WHAT to think, rather than HOW to think ... this would be a welcome addition if the curriculum and educational standards are similar to those in Bradford ... or would it? ..(knowing Bradford well, wouldn't hold my breath!)

and all those praising Imran Khan, there is no doubt about his philanthropic credentials, wish he'd stuck to them alone and not meddled in dirty politics

... but surely in recent times there has been a significant upsurge of so-called educational institutions, all over the place, with 'affiliations' in the UK (almost all private and out of reach for most but a select few) ... some even luring the prospective students by using the 'affiliations' as enticements ... wonder what all that is about

so it took "taliban" khan to build a world class university in an impoverished area of pakistan, even though enlightened moderate elite had all of 65 years to do the same.

long live imran khan! down down enlightened moderates!

Re: # 17

I do not think that anyone from religious right has ever accused him of fathering a child out of wedlock. First it was NS league and then MQM who felt threatened by him.

May Allah reward Imran Khan for his service to humanity, for his honesty, and for his straightforwrdness. Sooner, he realizes that Pak politics is a lost cause the better. Pakistan is not a viable political entity anymore. Imran Khan has best of intentions, he has delivered his intentions just as he says. He is a friend of humanity but no one stands behind him politically. People are so afraid to support an upright person becauser they have vested interests in this rotten, corrupt and decaying system. The first thing that Imran Khan should do is to separate himself from Jamaat-e-Harami. These are the people who supported and tried their best to legitimize vicious and mass murderer dicttator until the very last day he was in power. Imran! please save yourself from these serpents.

Most criticisms of Imran Khan are frankly dishonest. He has put money where his mouth is and is doing sustained action to help Pakistanis.(sasta tandoor, Shaukat khanum, namal)

Regarding his personal life and criticism from the religious right (him marrying a jewish woman, having illegitimate children being a retired playboy) and all is just plain nonsense. Compared to other politicians he is a saint.There criticism are just shows there insecurity (esp JI) as Imran khan is ever popular in there traditional base(Middle class urbanite Pakistani,Students esp).

I dont think him not calling dead soldiers shaheed isnt a big crime given the circumstances neither is it important for us as God is the only judge in such matters.In fact being overenthusiastic about the army means your either on its payroll or the ISI has a sex video of you having donkey sex.

Calling him a "reactionary" or a "closet Fundamentalist"as the left does is just labeling him and not an actually a convincing argument at all.Given the impotence and irrelevance of the so called "left", its the Hubris of the defeated.

But one thing is for sure he has a snow ball's chance in hell to ever hold office, which is okay as just by setting an example in honesty and independence our otherwise corrupt political landscape is achievement enough...

Ahmer
Good that you brought this to discussion. I don't think that from the glamourized elite of our society, we have any other philanthropist on the same pedestal as Imran. Also in my view he remains the most honest character we can see on our political forfront scenario. However, the fact remains, I am yet to witness anything that convinces me that Imran can distinguish well between running a cancer facility and a nuclear state. Mind you, by no means I am a supporter of how this state is already being run, but this does not imply that since it is already being run the wrong way hence it can be run any way whatsoever. The reason I can entrust Imran with my wealth is the trust that I hold in his honesty and commitment as a social worker. The reason I am yet to trust Imran with my vote is the lack of any clear motive, or vision on his end. I do not know that tommorrow if US of A stops interfering in our policies what will Imran do? Whom to blame? Whom to direct our reactions at? Other than the anti-US policy, which frankly is quite like the JI stance, what else is there?
In the past Ten years other than being another way to spell IK, has PTI been able to come up with any faces as Imran's TEAM? Even 'Qaid e Azam' had a political 'party'!
I think there is a lot that Imran has to do before becoming a good policatal leader, but I hope he never stops doing what he is doing now, for he does that the best!

"Yes he is articulate and not corrupt" ...does anybody know he fathered an illegeal child in the United States. His illegal daughter's name is Sita.

Imran should confine his domain to cricket and charity only. Compared to Imran, Miandad could be more effective leader due to his ties with his Sandhi Dawood Ibrahim. Corruption and Underworld rocks in Pakistan, given these parameters who could be better than Javed Miandad. He is hero of the masses and enjoy the full underworld support. My vote is for Javed Miandad. He can finetune the corruption in cricket. More wins for Pakistan, more Jashans for the Awam. Pakistan Ka Matlab Kya Hai, La Ilaha Ill Ella..

Re: # 1 he's got to stop talking about the "jirga nizam." he sounds like an idiot.

Re: # 3
Ahmed Saheb, it is a pity that your humour, mirth, sarcasm and turn of phrase are often lost on majority of the Chowkies!

Re: # 11
Well Taji, back in 1996 I have even compaigned for Imran when PTI was launched. But over the years I have changed a lot to understand what reactionary means. Imran though a good person is a reactionary who merely streghtens the status quo.
All my articles also are on a mindset. In my opinion we have to shake off a particular urban conservative mindset to get out of the mess we are in.
Imran despite being a good person, reflects that mindset.
I know at times criticism on him has a "psuedo" intellectual touch....but frankly it is generally right.
His crtics (apart from MQM and Sarfraz Nawaz) do not object to his charecter but on the fact that he represents a certain upper middle class morality which strengthens the status quo.
He has never denounced taliban rather kept on calling them merely a "reaction". A kind of apologetic behaviour. Moreover similar over hyped slogans of national soverignity which have undermined a political will to take action at the right time.
His party is completely a one man show.
Yes he is articulate and not corrupt. These two features do make him a favourite of media and middle to upper middle class urbanites.

One has to talk in relative terms. In Pakistan who could be called visionary or great leader? Imran Khan has shown more commitment to this country than all the other lot we have. He is not perfect, but he is not for looting national wealth, and has much more sincerity for Pakistan. As for his views on Talibans, if he had some soft corner for them, he was not alone, a sizable proportion of Pakistani people shared that, but that has changed with the sustained violence from the Taliban side. He has condemned the terrorist bombings quite vocally. I agree with the author that these days bashing him is the current pastime of the intellectuals.

Re: # 9
That was spot on

[We should keep our differences and criticism in perspective and acknowledge positive efforts of our adversaries. Jamatis should not shy away from appreciating the enormous amount of work Mustafa Kamal has done in Karachi and with the same token we should realize that these Zardaris, Bhuttos, Chaudhry’s, Geelani’s et al have far more money and influence than Imran but they have done far less good (some would argue they have rather done harm) for the common man of Pakistan. The people of Pakistan should remember this little detail while they are in the voting booth.]

I don't have problem with that and it is great that a person is charitable with his time and money, but the question is that does it make him a visionary leader that some people want him to be. He built hospital out of good intentions because of his celebrity status as crickter, and of course he was charitable with his own money and time, but again question is the same. Does it make him a good leader?

Moreover, why we are in the habit of glorifying anyone who is charitable to us. Anyone who gives us bakhshish or charity is great. He might be piuos in his personal capacity but it does not make him a leader. Praising him for Hosiptal is good and mentioning the poor getting free facilities is also good but why our poor always needs charity for healthcare. So the question to ask is why our public institutions do not do this. And this brings me to the concept of institution building. Does Imran beleive in institution building? From his career of cricketing to the PTI (where no one can name even two leaders apart from Imran), it is all about him being at the centre of stage. That is what he is and what he will remain.

And yes on political acumen, he is as intelligent as my neeli baar majh back in my pind in gujranwala....

please keep these in mind when you vote next time. You might vote for him because he is the least of the evil (although that is also debatable), but don't vote for him because he is a great political leader or visionary......

“Let me clearly state here that I don’t always agree with Imran on politics,...”

Is this article about you or Imran?

There's absolutely no doubt about Imran's contribution to our society and if anyone comments against his contributions he must be a nut-case but,
his rejection and refusal to call our soldiers "shaheed" who are dying for our country against evil mutant talibans and his constant advocacy of supporting talibans despite the suicide bombings and target killing of our civilians is a cause of concern. Imran should seriously introspect...!!!

I know many in his own party who had left him and his party's own website is full of hate material against him and his party members are asking why is he not supporting the army's offensive against talibans? does he want to make PTI a moderate beardless Jamaat-e-Islami? remember it was General Hamid Gul who took Imran to politics - so one has to understand the roots as to how Imran started his politics...

Lastly, I have great hope that as Imran himself had responded if he sheds his views for talibans and some other adjustments MQM and PTI could be that alternate force together ... I hope some day, Imran realizes and shed his idealistic and idiotic views..

btw, i shall never make the mistake i made last year, given his treachery against our brave soldiers as they lay down their lives in defense of Pakistan from arab invaders and their local lackeys.

You mean the invaders who were invited to fight the Russian bear and now are have been declared terrorists?

Pak army is only reaping what it sowed.

Re: # 3

why don't you get up and ask public to support you in opening of a hospital or a school and see how that goes.

With your current attitude, you will be lucky if you can get a "chai-shop" together. :)