Vote for IK

TO TELL THE truth. I had no interest in politics in the 1 970s or much of the 1 980s.
From the time I had left university in 1 975 until 1983. I had been so single-mindedly
and obsessively involved in international cricket that I had no time to think about much
else. Anyone who has played professional sport would understand how it completely
takes over one' s life. One lives and breathes the sport. so intense is the competition and
hence the focus. Over the years. I came to the conclusion that ' genius' is being obsessed
with what you are doing. So I was too absorbed to worry about the consequences of
Zia ' s military regime. his slow reversal of Bhutto ' s nationalization programme. or the
turmoil in neighbouring Iran and Afghanistan. Life continued as normal for most people
- the only ones who really felt Zia' s rule were his opponents. As the captain of the
Pakistan cricket team I had a good relationship with Zia. He used to call me personally
when we won matches and when. in 1 987. he asked me on live television to come back
out of retirement for the sake of the country. I agreed. Only after his regime ended did I
realize his devastating legacy and that. like so many of Pakistan' s leaders. he was
motivated purely by his desire to stay in power and was oblivious to the country's
decline. or the long-term consequences of his policies.
Amidst the steady erosion of the country' s political and social fabric. the
Pakistani people drew solace from its success in cricket. During the 1 970s and 1 980s
our team started growing in strength to the point that we could match our former
colonial masters. For teams like Pakistan. India and the West Indies. a battle to right
colonial wrongs and assert our equality was played out on the cricket field every time
we took on England. My friends. and two of my greatest opponents on the cricket field.
Sir Vivian Richards from the West Indies and Sunil Gavaskar from India. were both
examples of sportsmen who wanted to assert their equality on the cricket field against
their former colonial masters. I know that the motivation of the great teams produced by
the West Indies in the 1970s and 1 9 80s was to beat the English. For Viv in particular. it
was about self-esteem and self-respect. the two things that colonialism deprives the
colonized of.
Sport was not the only way to demonstrate post -colonial independence. I little
realized how far the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1 979 would transform the Muslim
world. However. it was a watershed moment in the way the West would view the
Muslim world. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan later that year. putting
Pakistan in the frontline of the Cold War. few of us fully grasped the extent to which
that too would affect Muslim thinking - in the world in general and Pakistan in
particular. I had visited Iran in 1 974 when I went to stay with a school friend from my
time at the Royal Grammar School. Worcester in England. Seeing the economic and
cultural divide of Iranian society and women in miniskirts in the bazaars of Tehran
surprised me. In today' s Lahore and Karachi I have seen a similar disparity - rich
women going to glitzy parties in Western clothes. chauffeured by men with entirely
different customs and values. But at the time I had never seen people behave in such a
westernized way in a Muslim country and was shocked by their disregard for the
cultural mores of the masses. I remember the look on the faces of the stallholders in the
bazaars as these women in short skirts sashayed past. The Iranian Islamic Revolution a
few years later was to draw heavily on the support of the bazaaris, who formed the
backbone of a traditional. devout middle-class in Iran that felt threatened by the Shah ' s
attempts to impose a n alien culture upon them and enraged by his role a s a puppet o f the
West. In Pakistan, however westernized people like me were, when we visited our
ancestral villages or went into rural areas - or even the old city of Lahore - we had to
respect local customs and sensitivities. The women in our family would wear the chador
(a cloth covering the head and shoulders, leaving only the face exposed) , or the burka (a
long garment covering the whole body) . Even in Lahore my mother always covered her
hair when she went shopping in the bazaar. To this day most women in Pakistan wear
the traditional shalwar kameez with dupatta (headscarf) . Only very recently have
younger urban women started to wear jeans.
The Iranian Revolution was a reaction in part to rapid westernization and
secularization campaigns in Iran by Reza Shah (the ruler of Iran from 1 925 until he was
forced to abdicate by the Allied powers in 1 9 4 1 ) and then his son Muhammad Reza
Shah Pahlavi. The latter was a brutal autocrat seen to be beholden to the United States
after he was restored to power following a 1 953 CIA-backed coup to overthrow
nationalist prime minister Mohammed Mossadegh. Mossadegh had had the temerity to
stand up for the rights of the Iranian people and seize the country' s oil production,
which had hitherto been controlled by the British government's Anglo-Iranian Oil
Company. Muhammad Reza Shah ' s sweeping social and economic changes alienated
the poor, the religious and the traditional merchant class who grew resentful of an elite
enriched by the 1 970s oil boom. Meanwhile, there was a growing class of rural poor
who had moved to the cities in the hope of benefiting from the petrodollar-fuelled
economic growth but found themselves unemployed, consigned to the slums and
increasingly under pressure from inflation as the economy overheated.
The revolution led by Khomeini promised to return power to the people and
restore religious purity to Iran. The events of 1 979 in Tehran and the establishment of an
Islamic state highlighted to the world the revolutionary potential of Islam and its power
to threaten the established order in the Muslim world. The overthrow of a tyrant was
welcomed jubilantly by ordinary people in Islamic countries, most of whom were also
suffering under the anti -democratic rule of leaders they viewed as Western stooges
disconnected from the economic realities and religious faith of their people. As with the
Middle East revolts in 201 1 , a sense of euphoria rippled across the region. The broad
base and strength of a movement that had toppled such a powerful US-backed regime
was also inspiring to people long resentful of colonial interference and Western
hegemony. And it had been achieved through relatively peaceful means, with mass
demonstrations and strikes.
In Pakistan there was tremendous excitement, and I could sense this when I
returned from playing cricket in England in the summer months. Since independence we
had already been governed by four different constitutions. We had run through
parliamentary democracy, Ayub Khan ' s ' presidential democracy' , which was effectively
a military dictatorship, economic liberalization and martial law. Yet here was Khomeini
standing up to the West with a new system that was both Islamic and anti-imperialist.
The political Islam of the Iranian Revolution filled the void left by the failure of Arab
nationalism in the Muslim world. Socialism had been discredited and communism had
never really taken off in a culture where religious faith is such an intrinsic part of life.
As the Iranian slogan went: 'Neither East nor West' ; Khomeini had forged a new path
that owed little to either the Western powers or communist Russia. And he explicitly
presented his ideology as an exportable political solution to the entire Islamic world.
Consequently, the West was terrified the Muslim world had reached a new
turning point. At stake were Western puppet regimes in oil-producing countries like
Saudi Arabia - whose royal family Khomeini openly criticized. In the same way that the
West turned a blind eye to corrupt regimes that claimed to safeguard the free world from
the evils of communism, from then on, autocratic rulers could manipulate Western fears
in order to clamp down on any political opposition in the name of fighting Islamic
fundamentalism. (The 9/1 1 attacks on the United States further reinforced this
tendency.) It was also at this point that the West started sending NGOs into Muslim
countries to encourage secularization - often in the name of liberating our women or
promoting human rights. Whenever there is unrest in an Islamic country, the old fears
about ' Iranization' or ' Islamization' of the country in question are raised by the West.
Only recently, in early 201 1 , this happened when the people of Egypt and Tunisia
toppled their dictators . Other countries, too, faced internal dissent but dealt harshly with
it; however, in Yemen and Bahrain, the actions that in Libya would lead to NATO
intervention were allowed to continue as the regimes were deemed pro-Western.
Zia, keen to legitimize his unconstitutional takeover of Pakistan, felt the mood
created by the Iranian Revolution and responded accordingly. His predecessor, the
Oxford- and Berkeley-educated Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had used religion to counter his
Western secular image by pandering to the religious parties. Bhutto ' s 1 973 constitution
confirmed Pakistan ' s identity as an Islamic Republic, the teaching of Islam was made
compulsory in schools and a Council of Islamic Ideology was set up to advise on
Islamic legislation. He had declared the Ahmedi sect non-Muslims. His critics, though,
only hardened their demands, campaigning for the introduction of more Islamic laws.
Zia cashed in on the opposition to Bhutto from the religious parties, which equated
secularism with anti-Islamism. He was prepared to go much further than Bhutto,
pledging on coming to power in 1 9 7 7 to make Pakistan an Islamic state. His version of
the Nizam-e-Mustapha (the System of the Prophet) aimed to overhaul penal codes
inherited from the British by bringing them into line with Sharia law. Emboldened by
events in Iran, from 1 979 he introduced still more reforms, ' Islamizing' the economy
and education system. He tried to introduce interest-free banking, imposed the automatic
deduction of zakat (a proportion of one ' s wealth which every Muslim has to contribute
annually) from bank accounts and invested in madrassas. The Hudood Ordinance
imposed strict punishments for crimes, including adultery, and its abuse by a corrupt
police and judicial system undermined the legal status of women, especially in the lower
strata of society. Zia revamped so many laws, but failed to introduce true Islamic social
justice; in fact his regime actually promoted inequality and corruption. His political use
of Islam was aimed more at capturing the mood of the time.
Zia also enforced Islamic rituals and promoted traditional dress codes in a bid to
' Islamize' the country; many years later Musharraf attempted to overhaul Pakistan and
turn it into a modern, liberal secular state by encouraging the use of English and
Western dress, which he thought would westernize Pakistan. Zia's ' Islamization' and
Musharraf's ' Enlightened Moderation' failed in their aims, as in such situations people
follow the latest diktats, but inwardly carry on as before. Both Zia and Musharraf failed
to understand that imposing outward observances will neither instil a sense of religious
faith nor propel a country into the twenty-first century.

OUTSIDE OF PAKISTAN. I am mainly known for my 2 1 -year-long cricket career. But
in my home country. I am the head of a party that is battling to take on a political elite
that has for more than six decades stymied this great country. depriving it of its Godgiven
potential. Ruled alternately by military dictators like President Musharraf. or as a
fiefdom by families like the Bhuttos and Sharifs. Pakistan has drifted far from the ideals
of its founders. Far from being the Islamic welfare state that was envisaged. Pakistan is
a country where politics is a game of loot and plunder and any challenger to the status
quo - even somebody with my kind of public profile and popularity - can be suddenly
arrested and threatened with violence. Founded as a homeland for Indian Muslims on
the principle of the unifying qualities of Islam. it remains a fractured country. Kashmir
to the north-east has been. since independence. the subject of a violent dispute between
India and Pakistan. the region divided between the two. In the north-west a civil war
between the army and militants plagues the Pashtun heartlands of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
and FATA (the Federally Administered Tribal Areas) . Baluchistan. a vast. rugged.
unexplored and thinly populated province bordering Iran and Afghanistan. simmers with
a separatist insurgency. To the south the Arabian Sea washes against the shores of
Baluchistan and Sindh. where the provincial capital Karachi is riven with fighting
between various ethnic groups. including Pashtun immigrants and the descendants of
Muslims who came from the other side of the border at Partition. referred to as Mohajirs
or refugees. Meanwhile. Punjab. home to more than half of the country's population. is
resented by other provinces for monopolizing Pakistani political power and prosperity.
For me our country' s woes began soon after Pakistan was created in 1 9 4 7 . when
we lost our great leader Jinnah. Pakistan - which means Land of the Pure - was just five
years old when I was born. We had such pride in our country then. such optimism. We
were a new nation. wrested out of the dying British Raj as a homeland for Muslims.
Gone were the insidious humiliations of colonialism and the fear of being drowned in an
overwhelming Hindu majority in an independent India. We were a free people. free to
rediscover an Islamic culture that had once towered over the subcontinent. Free. too. to
implement the ideals of Islam based on equality. and social and economic justice. A
democracy. as Pakistan ' s founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah said. not a theocracy.
We were to be the shining example in the Muslim world of what Islam could achieve
were it allowed to flourish. Such dreams we had. It was only much later that we
discovered how hard it would be to fulfil these dreams. even in a brand-new nation like
ours. unburdened by the rigidities of history. As the years went by. we built our own
tormented history. and drifted further and further away from the ideals that had inspired
Pakistan's creation.
Pakistan ' s roots lay in the final days of the British Raj in India. Before then the
territory - roughly defined as the Punjab. the North-West Frontier Province. the
coastline on the Arabian sea of Sindh province and Baluchistan - had not been defined
as Pakistan but. over the centuries. became first part of one empire and then another.
The British. initially through the East India Company and later through the British
Army. controlled the area from the early part of the nineteenth century onward. From
the 1 880s. though. the aim for millions of people throughout the subcontinent who
wanted self-determination was the end of British rule. The Indian National Congress.
which initially included Muslims. worked to achieve this end. The British did not want
to relinquish control but the Second World War weakened Britain economically and
politically. and by then the empire on which ' the sun never sets' was in its twilight
years.
The Indian National Congress negotiated with the British to bring about the end
of their rule over India. and they wanted to see the whole subcontinent remain one
country. Here the histories of the two nations starts to diverge; wary of Hindu
nationalism. and mindful of the kind of violence that took place at sporadic intervals
over the 1 920s and 1 9 30s in different cities and provinces in India. the All-India Muslim
League took a different view. As part of this league. two men in particular were
fundamental in the foundation of Pakistan. Jinnah and Allama Muhammad Iqbal.
Iqbal. who died in 1 938. nine years before the creation of Pakistan. is the
visionary poet-philosopher considered to be the spiritual founder of Pakistan. In 1 930 in
an address to the All-India Muslim League. he said. 'I would like to see the Punjab.
North-West Frontier Province. Sindh and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single State.
Self-government within the British Empire or without the British Empire. the formation
of a consolidated North-West Indian Muslim State appears to me to be the final destiny
of Muslims. at least of North-West India. ' Believing that ' the Indian Muslim is entitled
to full and free development on the lines of his own culture and tradition in his own
Indian homelands, ' Iqbal felt that this was a necessary stage for the Muslim community
to develop its collective selfhood. or khudi.
Iqbal not only conceived of a self-governing Muslim state. his passionate voice
awakened and activated Indian Muslims. motivating them not only to strive to free
themselves from the bondage of imperialism and colonialism. but also to challenge other
forms of totalitarian control. Believing fervently in human equality and the right of
human beings to dignity. justice and freedom. Iqbal empowered the disempowered to
stand up and be counted.
When I was older. I found Iqbal ' s work hugely inspirational. He argued against
an unquestioning acceptance of Western democracy as the self-governing model. and
instead suggested that by following the rules of Islam a society would tend naturally
towards social justice. tolerance. peace and equality. Iqbal ' s interpretation of Islam
differs very widely from the narrow meaning that is sometimes given to it. For Iqbal.
Islam is not just the name for certain beliefs and forms of worship. The difference
between a Muslim and a non-Muslim is not merely a theological one - it is a difference
of a fundamental attitude towards life.
Iqbal considered pride in one ' s lineage or caste to be one of the major reasons for
the downfall of Muslims. In his view. in Islam. based on the principles of 'equality.
solidarity and freedom ' . there was no hierarchy or aristocracy. and the criterion for
assessing the merit of human beings was taqwa (righteousness) . As Prophet Muhammad
(Peace Be Upon Him) said: 'The noblest of human beings are those who fear God most. '
In other words. those who are humane and just. because when you fear God you believe
you are accountable to Him and must act accordingly.

Our Goals
• Establish Pakistan as a truly independent and sovereign state that
 becomes a source of pride for our people.
• Strengthen state institutions to promote democracy and complete political,
economic and religious freedom for the people.
• Provide an accountable and efficient government that ensures the protection
of life and property of its citizens.
• Launch an Education Revolution to promote universal literacy and raise the
standard of education in our schools, colleges and universities.
• Ensure the availability of adequate Healthcare services for all citizens.
• Highest priority to poverty alleviation through policies aimed at creating more
 job opportunities and enabling ownership of assets to the poor.
• A merit based system that provides equal opportunity for employment and
upward social mobility for all, specially the working classes

Our Ideology
Pakistanis crave dignity and self-respect. Any hope of recovery from the
multifaceted crisis engulfing the nation remains illusory without reviving the selfesteem
of the people and restoring their confidence in the political leadership. We
can achieve this by following the Principles of “Unity, Faith and Discipline” as
expounded by the Quaid-e-Azam.
PTI is committed to transparency in government and an across the board
accountability. It believes in federalism and functional autonomy of the provinces,
based on the spirit and fundamental principles of parliamentary democracy as
envisaged in the 1973 Constitution.