Pakistan plagued by dynastic politics: Imran Khan
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has said he "completely" agrees with his former wife Jemima Khan's contention that Pakistan has been plagued by dynastic politics.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has said he "completely" agrees with his former wife Jemima Khan's contention that Pakistan has been plagued by dynastic politics.
"I agree with her completely that democracy was meant to finish dynastic rule, in other words, monarchy. In the subcontinent, we have been plagued by this, that just because someone has a blood relationship, it entitles them to inherit power," he said.
"It is quite against the norms of democracy (which) basically means that the best leader should come up," Khan told interviewer Karan Thapar on "Devil's Advocate" programme.
Jemima, who often writes on Pakistan for British newspapers, had been critical of the Pakistan People's Party's decision to make teenaged Bilawal Bhutto Zardari its chief after his mother Benazir Bhutto's assassination last year.
"Here, if you're related you already have a head start...Widows take over or in this case, a widower or the children of leaders," Khan said.
Yet Khan, who heads the Tehrik-i-Insaf Party, sees hope. "I think we are moving towards an evolution of democracy. As we get more mature, I think this will disappear."
Asked if he accepted Jemima's view on Bhutto being a "Kleptocrat in a Hermes scarf" and that she was an incompetent prime minister who brazenly looted the treasury, Khan said, "That's Jemima's article, she writes regular columns. I think you should interview her for that."