The Many Merits In His Stars

Can Imran produce a nuanced India policy, beyond the patriotic rhetoric his past is studded with? It hinges on the exigencies of power—and the army.

- Pranay Sharma

THE possible emergence of Imran Khan as Pakistan’s new prime minister is being seen by India with genuine interest, and also a fair bit of scepticism—if not the outright alarm his cricketing avatar used to elicit. Back in the day, Imran’s swing, bounce and toe-crushing pace had tormented Indian batsmen. In his potential new role as helmsman of not just a playing eleven but all of Pakistan, is he likely to unleash another hostile spell against India? Or will Imran the politician be different—marked by flexibility, pragmatism and amiability? Will he want to smoke the peace pipe?

South Block mandarins are keeping a keen eye on how Pakistan’s July 25 election unfolds. Especially on whether Imran—in an author-backed role, so to speak—manages to upstage Nawaz Sharif, who finds himself playing against the odds. The wily Nawaz is meeting the challenge by scrambling the game with a new ‘victimhood’ card. And whether Imran succeeds or not depends on whether he can outdo Nawaz’s electoral pull—even in absentia, from prison.

The political drama seems to be obeying a specific, if tentative plotline that is generating a knowing smile in the Indian foreign policy establishment. Imran, they believe, has been propped up by the Pakistani army to cut to size its former protege, Nawaz. New Delhi,  therefore, expects Imran to do the bidding faithfully for the generals in the domain of security and foreign policy—especially in its dealings with India. Issues that are of concern to India—like terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil—may then be controlled through that familiar policy prism.