PukIsLun: CrIckeL, CorrupLIon und mrun KIun LIe SuvIour

CouId LIe IuLe oI u nuLIon In LurmoII resL wILI one mun?

Hot and bothered: protesters burn images of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif in Multan Photo: GETTY
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:30AM GMT 05 Nov 2011

unLll now lmran khan has been vlewed ln 8rlLaln ln a raLher narrow way former husband of Lhe
helress !emlma khan and a brllllanL sporLsman who led hls counLry Lo a serles of famous vlcLorles on Lhe
crlckeL fleld
8uL afLer wlLnesslng hls asLoundlng pollLlcal rally ln a park here ln Lahore lasL weekend l would argue
LhaL Lhe way we see lmran khan ls ln need of urgenL reassessmenL Pe musL now be consldered as a
poLenLlal prlme mlnlsLer and perhaps even one day presldenL of Lhls deeply Lroubled counLry
Cn Sunday l Lravelled by rlckshaw Lo wlLness hlm launch hls campalgn ahead of Lhe naLlonal elecLlons
whlch are expecLed ln 18 monLhs 1he aLmosphere was elecLrlc wlLh anLlclpaLlon as l sLood for hours ln
Lhe mlddle of a worshlpplng crowd who had been walLlng all day ln Lhe unremlLLlng heaL Lo hear
aklsLan's former crlckeL capLaln
1he people around me many of Lhem young and a large number mosL unusually for aklsLan women
Lold me Lhey saw khan as a savlour 1hey belleve LhaL only he can brlng Lo an end Lhe cynlclsm and
corrupLlon LhaL has broughL Lhelr counLry Lo lLs knees over Lhe pasL Lwo decades
1hey lapped up hls message LhaL Lhelr counLry has been beLrayed by a greedy wesLernbacked pollLlcal
class who have squandered aklsLan's naLural resources and hldden Lhelr eyewaLerlng proflLs ln
offshore bank accounLs
Muzammll Saeed a man ln hls LwenLles who works ln Lhe compuLer lndusLry Lold me lmran ls noL a
common man 8uL he says whaL Lhe common man Lhlnks" Cne of hls companlons added lmran ls Lhe
hope for aklsLan"
8uL only Lhree days afLer khan's command performance ln Lahore a very dlfferenL Lype of aklsLanl
sporLlng hero was puLLlng on anoLher klnd of dlsplay Lhls Llme ln SouLhwark Crown CourL
Salman 8uLL llke khan ls a former naLlonal crlckeL capLaln 8uL Lhere Lhe resemblance ends Whlle
khan's speech offered Lhe posslblllLy of moral redempLlon Lhe wreLched 8uLL and Lwo fellow crlckeLers
were found gullLy of corrupLly accepLlng paymenLs and consplracy Lo cheaL
l was ln Lahore home Lown Lo boLh 8uLL and khan when Lhe [ury announced lLs verdlcL lL ls lmposslble
Lo exaggeraLe Lhe horror wlLh whlch lL was greeLed
1urnlng on Lhe Lelevlslon l saw a 88C World Servlce reporL saylng Lhe [ury's declslon was meL wlLh
anger" ln aklsLan hlnLlng LhaL Lhe counLry was ouLraged LhaL a 8rlLlsh courL could have found Lhelr
heroes gullLy 1hls lnference was profoundly wrong Shame and despalr were Lhe overwhelmlng
emoLlons dlsplayed ln aklsLan Zulflkar All 8uLL Salman's faLher was so shaLLered LhaL he has
posLponed Lhe marrlage of hls 22yearold daughLer Pe had sald he was ready Lo be hanged publlcly" lf
Lhe allegaLlons were found Lo be Lrue
Mr !usLlce Cooke who handed ouL a 30monLh senLence Lo 8uLL declared before senLenclng Lhe Lhree
crlckeLers LhaL lL ls Lhe lnsldlous effecL of your acLlons on professlonal crlckeL and Lhe followers of lL
LhaL make Lhe offences so serlous"
8uL Lhe [udge hugely undersLaLed Lhe naLure of Lhelr crlme and beLrayal 1he depLh of aklsLan's angulsh
cannoL be grasped wlLhouL an undersLandlng LhaL Lhe counLry's naLlonal passlon ls crlckeL consumlng all
else before lL ln a deeply dlvlded land Lhe crlckeL Leam ls alongslde Lhe army Lhe only real expresslon
of unlLy CrlckeL ls played by youngsLers on every sLreeL and each one dreams of playlng for Lhe naLlonal
Leam 1he chalrman of Lhe aklsLan crlckeL board ls vlewed as one of Lhe Lhree mosL lmporLanL men ln
Lhe counLry along wlLh Lhe presldenL and head of Lhe army
Cver Lhe pasL week l have spoken as parL of my research lnLo a hlsLory of aklsLan crlckeL Lo many of
Lhe counLry's mosL famous crlckeLers Lverywhere l encounLered despondency 1he one excepLlon was
aklsLan wlckeLkeeper baLsman kamran Akmal who Lold Lahore's Lxpress 1rlbune LhaL he had never
seen 8uLL do anyLhlng wrong 8uL Akmal (one of Lhe players whom accordlng Lo Lhe prosecuLlon agenL
Mazhar Ma[eed boasLed he had under hls conLrol) was Lhe lone volce
1haL maglcal leg splnner Abdul Cadlr Lhe clerlc's son who plundered so many Lngland wlckeLs under Lhe
capLalncy of lmran khan ln Lhe 1980s Lold me LhaL Lhe hearL and mlnd of aklsLanl crlckeL ls noL clear"
addlng LhaL my faLher had a flrm bellef LhaL afLer deaLh Lhere would be a [udgmenL so he Lold me
never Lo do anyLhlng dellberaLely LhaL was wrong"
l spoke Lo Cadlr before Lhe verdlcL was known buL he Lold me LhaL any oLher player who had consorLed
for Lhe gullLy crlckeLers should be heavlly punlshed Lahore's ually 1lmes echoed Lhls senLlmenL calllng
on 1hursday for a zero Lolerance approach Lowards corrupLlon" and a compleLe uprooLlng of all llllclL
and dlshonesL beLLlng acLlvlLles"
ln Lhe llbrary of Lhe aklsLan CrlckeL 8oard ln Lhe Caddafl SLadlum ln Lahore l came across one of Lhe
counLry's crlckeLlng legends lmLlaz Ahmed a hardhlLLlng wlckeLkeeper baLsman who played ln
aklsLan's flrsL 1esL maLch agalnsL lndla ln 1932 Pe recalled LhaL he was pald 10 rupees (abouL 1) a
day for represenLlng hls counLry Pe expressed bewlldermenL LhaL Loday's players who are pald so well
ln comparlson should Lake exLra money from bookmakers
ln karachl l had lunch wlLh anoLher greaL flgure from Lhe early days of aklsLan crlckeL Lhe radlo
commenLaLor !amsheed Marker who laLer enLered Lhe dlplomaLlc servlce and became hls counLry's
ambassador Lo Lhe unlLed naLlons Pe recalled how Pafeez kardar aklsLan's flrsLever crlckeL capLaln
was never pald any money Pe was drlven by paLrloLlsm loyalLy and duLy Lhere was a loL of lL abouL ln
Lhe early days"
lL seems Lo me LhaL lL ls Lhls LradlLlon of lnLegrlLy and publlc servlce whlch lmran khan and hls pollLlcal
parLy 1ehreekelnsaf (Lhe MovemenL for !usLlce) ls Lrylng Lo resurrecL and as seen ln lasL Sunday's
rally lL has subsLanLlal appeal Lverywhere l wenL ln aklsLan l sensed LhaL people sLlll feel a huge sense
of prlde ln Lhelr counLry a prlde LhaL almosL more Lhan anyLhlng else expresses lLself Lhrough Lhe
crlckeL Leam 1hls ls Lhe reason why 8uLL and hls fellow crlckeLers dld noL slmply commlL a crlmlnal
offence Lhey were gullLy of an acL of unspeakable Lreachery 1hey enrlched Lhemselves aL Lhe expense
of Lhelr publlc duLy Lo Lhelr counLry lL ls Lhls whlch makes Lhelr crlme comparable Lo Lhe dally beLrayals
of aklsLan's pollLlclans who noLorlously flll Lhelr prlvaLe pockeLs wlLh publlc funds and hardly ever geL
caughL or punlshed LlLLle wonder Lhen LhaL lmran khan has ldenLlfled a new consLlLuency whlch has
been lncreaslngly dlsenchanLed from malnsLream aklsLanl pollLlcs over Lhe pasL few decades Lhe
young ldeallsLlc and publlcsplrlLed
ln aklsLan lL ls noL dlfflculL Lo deLecL echoes of Lhe Arab sprlng whlch convulsed norLh Afrlca slx
monLhs ago As wlLh Lhe Arab Sprlng khan's message ls [usL as uncomforLable for 8rlLaln and Amerlca as
lL ls for bloaLed local pollLlclans Pe called for Lhe WesL Lo pull ouL of AfghanlsLan and brlng Lo an end Lhe
lllegal drone aLLacks whlch have clalmed Lhe llves of Lhousands of lnnocenL aklsLanls
Lver slnce lL achleved lndependence from 8rlLaln ln 1947 crlckeL came Lo deflne whaL aklsLan sLands
for as a counLry ln Lhe early days LhaL naLlonal Leam was an expresslon of Lhe paLrloLlsm and
selflessness of Lhe aklsLan posLwar creaLors More recenLly Lhe osslfled arrogance of an enLrenched
pollLlcal ellLe has broughL aklsLanl crlckeL Lo lLs knees
8uL Lhe horrlfled reacLlon Lo lasL week's verdlcL allled Lo khan's poLenL message of naLlonal redempLlon
shows LhaL Lhe ldeallsm LhaL led Lo Lhe formaLlon of aklsLan more Lhan 60 years ago has noL been losL
lar from belng a dlsasLer Lhls week's evenLs ln SouLhwark Crown CourL could be seen as a Lurnlng polnL
ln Lhe hlsLory of aklsLan's magnlflcenL naLlonal game and ln Lhe naLlon lLself