Pakistan Is Interpreting PM Imran Khan’s U-Turn Statement In All Sorts Of Ways

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Araiz Shahid
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Imran Khan’s Extra-Ordinary Journey From A Cricketer To Pakistan’s PM
Image Source: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

One of the biggest criticisms directed towards Imran Khan – before and after he assumed the Prime Minister’s office – is his habit of taking u-turns. In simpler words the Premier is known to make statements and make lofty proclamations that he very quickly backtracks on. Over the last few years, this practice has earned him notorious nicknames. For instance, U-Turn Khan is often used by his political opponents while scoffing at his fiery assertions. In fact, so famous is this particular attribute that there are entire Facebook pages (with hundreds of thousands of followers) dedicated to the phenomenon of Khan’s infamous u-turns.

And while most in the Prime Minister’s place would try to shake-off a reputation that essentially points at weak leadership, Imran Khan recently made a statement in which he not merely embraced his identity as a u-turn prone leader but also claimed that taking u-turns was a sign of a “real leader.”

Read: Pakistanis Are Standing With The Government But Is The Government Standing With Us?

During a press meet in his office, Prime Minister Khan reportedly said, “The leader who does not take timely U-turns is not a real leader.” He even went as far as to blame Napolean and Hitler’s failures on their inability to take u-turns as and when required! “Both Hitler and Napoleon faced defeat as they did not change their strategies according to the situation and (as a result) their armies were marooned in Russia,” he elaborated for the journalists.

Why It’s Hard to Defend the PM’s Statement

In Khan’s defense, he was trying to emphasize the fact that leaders ought to be more flexible, with the ability to adopt a new strategy in view of the changing situations. However, given the Prime Minister’s history of sometimes backtracking within hours of making a statement makes it very hard to defend him or his custom of u-turns in totality.

Take the Case of the Recent Riots for Example

Imran Khan made a crisp, to the point televised statement two weeks ago in which he warned TLP rioters to not challenge the writ of the state. Both PTI’s proponents and opponents had cheered for the PM, urging him to take immediate action against the hooligans. However, shortly after the speech – which according to one of his media critics had been labelled as the Prime Minister’s “…finest hour,” –  he had flown out of the country and instead of putting the extremist forces in their place, his government had conveniently signed an agreement with TLP to the shock and disappointment of millions.

Read: Twitter Reactions: Pakistanis Want An End To Bigotry Following TLP’s Protests After The Asia Bibi Verdict

It only makes sense then that Imran Khan’s recent statement defending his u-turns cannot be endorsed as a sign of strong leadership.

Twitter Reactions

The most potent criticism is coming from Jinnah-ists, who feel that Khan’s policy of u-turns is directly in opposition to the values of the Father of the Nation.

Then there are those who have dug-up academic content and historical anecdotes to discredit the PM’s u-turn strategy.

https://twitter.com/IM_MegaMind/status/1063701210505580544

The rejection of Khan’s u-turn statement has been virtually universal, making many Pakistanis apprehensive about trusting any of the promises that the PM has made to them.

Of course, no national discourse is complete without the valuable input of meme- and jest-makers!

https://twitter.com/IM_MegaMind/status/1063701660583772160

And while most Pakistanis are still shaking their heads in disappointment after the u-turns-are-a-sign-of-leadership fiasco, some staunch supporters don’t understand what all the hullabaloo is about.

Nadeem Farooq Paracha being his witty best is waiting for this to happen:

“You can change the way, not the direction.” With this tweet we drop the mike!

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