Haroon Riaz
Source: Economic Times
Every time you think Imran Khan cannot get any worse to shock people with his worldview, he goes on to outdo himself. If his hilariously idiotic Medina State rhetoric were not enough, he further embarrassed himself on his recent visit to China.
In his own words, he paid a tribute to the authoritarian Communist regime in China by offering a fresh glimpse into what kind of Medina State he envisions for Pakistan.
Wish I could follow President Xi’s example and put 500 corrupt people in Pakistan in jail.
This is not fiction and it is the kind of statement that his liberal defenders would otherwise attribute his detractors to have come up with. However, many people obsessed with him often forget that it is precisely reckless rhetoric like this which has helped him mobilize the worst of the urban middle-class vote in the country. People who are fed on the false narratives of ARY News and DG ISPR are the ones who will actually cheer for this visionary comment made by their handsome Messiah. Presenting yet another ignorant address by the self-proclaimed statesman.
Imran Khan represents the fascist mindset of the authoritarianism that conservative Pakistanis represent who idealize the Iranian revolution and people hanging in public squares but only demand selective accountability for civilian leadership. These slave-minded people across the nation, but particularly concentrated in Punjab, Karachi, and urban Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been fed this narrative for decades by the military. They either believe that the military should be in power or their puppet leaders like Imran, who many of them also see as a divinely sanctioned Messiah.
I hope his Nawaz Sharif-hating liberal defenders in the urban centers of Pakistan would be thrilled with the “improvements” and “reforms” he has in mind for the judicial and political system in Pakistan. He is already acting on it. Perhaps, this fascism is what his farcical Medina State is all about.
Not only does he ignore the plight of the Uighur Muslims in China, he further proves his idiocy and authoritarian leaning by minimizing the democratic struggle of the people of Hong Kong while he sheds crocodile tears for the people of Kashmir. Well, who’s not surprised.
I am puzzled as to how international media continues to give headline coverage to Hongkong protests but ignores the dire human rights crisis in IOJK – an internationally recognised disputed territory illegally annexed by India with 900k troops imposing a siege on 8mn Kashmiris
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 11, 2019
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Clearly, a leader who made such an outcry for years about the treatment of detainees in Guantanamo Bay by the US military must feel offended by this. Especially because it concerns the “Muslim Ummah” he claims to champion the rights of. Will he discuss the plight of the Uighurs in the new propaganda channel that is supposed to address Islamophobia that he plans to launch with fellow fascists Erdogan and Mahathir Muhammad? Or has he been conveniently skipping this part of the news just like his party followers live in a parallel universe?
Unfortunately, this shameless leader which many urban conservative nationalists sympathizing with the military establishment, which is corrupt and incompetent in its own right, proves to be a disgrace for the nation time and time again. But he truly represents the ugly worldview of his regressive nationalist conservative followers.
Imran Khan and PTI, along with their malicious voters, are fascists and they are proud of it.
We must call them out and ridicule them for it.
Filed under: Commentary, General | Tagged: authoritarianism, China, civilian supremacy, democracy, dictatorship, fascism, fascist, Hong Kong, Imran Khan, Islamophobia, justice, Mahathir Muhammad, Muslim Ummah, Muslims, Pakistan, Peace, PTI, Reccip Teyyip Erdogan, Uighur, war, Xi Jinping | Leave a comment »
The Truth Journal 
The Rare Proud Moment of the Kartarpura Corridor
Source: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Dawn
Today is Gurpurab or the Birthday of Baba Gurunanak, the founder of the Sikh religion. On the occasion of his 550th birthday, Pakistan and India achieved something unprecedented and historic. The Kartarpura Corridor was opened to the Darbar Saheb Gurudwara from Amritsar. Prime Ministers of both the countries inaugurated their respective sides of the Corridor.
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Source: Nighat Dad facebook
Source: Nighat Dad facebook
However, there is a shade of doubt behind the Kartarpura Corridor as well. The opposition is raising questions about the funding of the project, considering its efficient and speedy construction and completion within months. Many believe that the project comes directly from the Army Chief General Bajwa, whose interest in it makes more sense than that of Imran Khan. Others believe that Pakistani intelligence has pushed it to help encourage the Khalistan movement in Eastern Punjab.
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Furthermore, leaders of progressive parties are also raising the issue that the farmers whose land has been withheld by the state for building the corridor and the temple complex infrastructure have still not been compensated. Opposition leaders are even asking the tough questions regarding the funding of the Kartarpura Corridor, let alone the idea of opening the border in Punjab when civil freedom in Kashmir has still not been restored ever since the passage of the revocation of Article 370.
There is little doubt that this project was instantly initiated and completed because the Pakistani military was behind it because such efficiency cannot be expected from the PTI administration. You also cannot expect the PTI administration to have the courage or imagination to launch such a huge infrastructure project. This is why it is unfortunate that such projects with India can only be initiated and realized when Pakistani generals push the idea. Otherwise, any civilian leader like Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, who also tried taking similar initiatives, were dubbed pro-Indian traitors by the deep state.
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But is it a project initiated completely out of malice? And can Indians trust the Muslims of Western Punjab with their strangely newfound love for their Sikh brethren? These are not unreasonable questions to ask. At the same time, it is the kind of passion that only a Punjabi can understand. This project was completed out of the shared love and reverence of Baba Guru Nanak, who is revered by both Sikhs and Hindus and even Muslims. He is an undisputed saint, if not a manifestation of God. It is out of reverence for him that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi swallowed his pride and inaugurated the Indian wing of the Kartarpura Corridor in Eastern Punjab in the presence of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
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With all its misgivings and flaws, and perhaps even the evil intentions of the Pakistani military establishment, Kartarpura Corridor is worth it. It has made possible for Western Punjab to celebrate a Punjabi religion in the 74 years of its post-partition history, or in my living memory at least. It is also evident by the Government of Pakistan taking initiative to mint commemorative coins on the 550th Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev. These words from Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu perfectly elaborate it, eulogizing his friend Imran Khan for making history with this huge step.
The memories of United India are still etched somewhere on our DNA. Those forgotten moments come to life again with Kartarpura Corridor. No words can describe what seeing our own pilgrims returning home feels like. I never thought this would make me emotional but it did. Perhaps we could never appreciate what it means to be together until we are separated. Muslims and Sikhs massacred each other for a partition based on faith and are today embracing each other for the same faith. It is surreal.
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The Kartarpura Corridor only reminds us of the sheer disaster that was the partition of Punjab, and the partition of India in general. When we see Punjabi brothers and sisters from both sides of the borders embracing each other, we realize what our shortsighted forefathers have taken away from us out of their bigotry and insecurities.
They have taken away from us that little India that existed in every town and village in United India. They have taken away our Sikh and Hindu brothers and sisters in our neighborhood. They have taken away our shared celebrations of Eid, Diwali, Holi, Dussehra, Vaisakhi, and Gurpurab. And it simply cannot be put back together even if we unite Punjab and India again. It is a venom that even Shiv’s throat cannot hold.
It is the kind of hate that even God cannot contain, let alone undo.
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Filed under: Commentary, Videos | Tagged: Baba Guru Nanak, conflict, Diplomacy, Eastern Punjab, God, India, Islam, Kartarpura, Kartarpura Corridor, Khalistan, Narowal, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Pakistan, Peace, politics, Punjab, religion, Sikhism, Sikhs, Western Punjab | Leave a comment »