Most of us are curious about how the future will pan out for us. And this curiosity increases in proportion to the uncertainty that surrounds us.
Thus we are driven to hear talks by astrologers and soothsayers hoping to find a silver streak across the darkness of a foreboding sky.
Today I heard a talk with Nishant Bhardwaj, an Indian astrologer which I thought was unusual. No beating about the bush. I have transcribed this from urdu/Hindi, and done so as honestly and meticulously as was possible for me to do.
Question [MSJ]: Do you foresee any relief coming Imran Khan’s way in the last week of August?
Answer [Nishant Bhardwaj]: The question does not arise. Let me tell you–you see I am neither his friend nor his enemy. He is a madman who is not very discerning. But at least he loves his country and that is why people respect him. But he was surrounded by louts and thugs…let me tell you once again, Imran is an honest man. Bushra Bibi might have indulged in inappropriate behavior, and the same might have been done by “vah-hayat” ministers like Fawad Choudhary, who were also planted on him by the establishment, but the man [Imran Khan] I can definitively say is honest. You can conduct any number of inquiries against him, but they will not find a speck of dirt on him. They have got him through high-handedness because ill times have befallen him. Your country can only profit through him. But he was not allowed to function either earlier when he wanted friendship with India, or later, when he did not want to, but Bajwa sahib wanted to be friends with India. They made him dance to their tune, till at one point he went berserk because, unlike others, he is such a man. He does not know [what we call] governance. Then they had Bushra Bibi play him. She was not his choice. The establishment knew he was his own man and had to be controlled. If he was left free, who could say what he would do? This is why he had to be kept on a leash.
Q. Do you see any future for Parvez Khattaq and his party?
Ans. Na jee Na. I will tell you again. Imran Khan will be the next Prime Minister of Pakistan. Nobody can stop him–their fathers won’t be able to do so, no matter how they rig the elections. If he does not make it, this will be Pakistan’s misfortune. If there is a single man who can put Pakistan back on the rails in today’s political situation, that man is Imran Khan. And this is even though he is alone now–America is against him; the establishment is against him; and every political “scenario” is against him. Even then he will be the next Prime Minister of Pakistan, IF HE IS ALLOWED TO LIVE. EVERYONE WILL LIE TRAPPED IF HE IS ALLOWED TO LIVE.
Q. How long will Kakar’s caretaker set-up last?
Ans: They will not have elections in three months. They will be there for a minimum of six months. After six months a situation created that elections will not be possible.
Q. So are you not predicting elections for next March?
Ans: No. They will be delayed till next September. The situation in March will not be conducive for elections. Perhaps by March things will have gone beyond their control and Pakistan will find itself involved in a war of its choosing.
Let me tell you, son, these people have no concern for their country. People who have love for their country, work for it. Compare our U.P with your Pakistan. They both have a population of 22 crores, but Pakistan has much more land and many times more resources. What is it that you don’t have? Had they wanted to, they could have created another heaven in Pakistan. But they have eaten Pakistan away. They have destroyed its respect and its people. Today every Pakistani should have been well off, but all your wealth is worthless to you, given the leaders you have.
Q. Do you foresee Shabaz Sharif returning to Pakistan?
Ans: Did I not tell you Nawaz Sharif will never return to Pakistan? All these chaps will go abroad. Not just Shahbaz Sharif, but everyone, beginning with Zardari and his baby son. They will all go abroad. Maybe Maryam stays, but for the rest, ALL of them will go. But none of them will find a place to hide their faces in the whole wide world. Wherever they go, Pakistanis will beat them up. They have subjected the country to unrestrained pillage. What have all your leaders done for Pakistan? It is time for you to get your act together. Very bad days lie ahead. Only if you pull together can there be any hope for you to combat the coming time and survive.
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In all the foregoing, two sentences stood out for me, viz:
a. ” HE [IMRAN KHAN] LOVES HIS COUNTRY AND THAT IS WHY PEOPLE RESPECT HIM.”
It had not seriously occurred to me that the average Pakistani does not analyze Imran Khan. But hidden in him, deep somewhere, is his love for his country. And intuitively he finds Imran driven by the same love, and so he binds with him.
b. “EVERYONE WILL LIE TRAPPED IF HE [IMRAN KHAN] IS ALLOWED TO LIVE.”
For a country where political engineering is driven by the twin considerations of preserving stolen wealth and one’s skin, whether this skin belongs to those in uniform, or out of it, this was an easy prediction to make. They all seem certain they’ll get away with it. Ironically, the most optimistic people in Pakistan are those who have committed treason in their country!
