Yesterday afternoon, the Pakistani ex-cricketer, philanthropist, and opposition politician Imran Khan spoke at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs.
His speech was mostly a simple, clear, and charismatic expression of the calls for rule of law that characterize the lawyers’ movement and the opposition to Musharraf’s rule generally.
His main argument was a critique of the idea, prevalent in the Western media and political establishment, that the main divide within Pakistan is the one between extremists and moderates. He argued that extremists exist in Pakistan in roughly the same proportion as in any other society. Rather, Khan argued that the main opposition within Pakistan is between those who support Musharraf and the status quo and those who seek change.
Khan said that the main way to challenge fundamentalists is through intellectual means. Suppression only leads to militancy.
During the question and answer session, he observed that he had recently visited Washington, DC, where he saw some anti-abortion demonstrators. He said that they reminded him of Pakistani madrassah students. He asked why some consider it inappropriate to even talk to religiously based political parties.
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