Some critics of Imran Khan seem to be from the liberal elite of Pakistan.  Like the rich land owners, educated in the West, massive houses and servants and out of touch with the majority of Pakistanis.

This column is from a series of tweets by journalist Assed Baig. You can view them here.

The country still had a massive rural population, it is changing but it is still mainly rural with loads of poverty.

These elites send their kids to British Universities where they pay £10,000 plus a year, live the high life here, and then go back and look down on the poor. But they’re on social media playing up to the western liberals. They’re not representative.

Most Pakistanis can’t afford to send their kids abroad, go on holidays, or even eat in the same places these guys do. Yet, certain sections of the western media lap these guys up like they’re the voice of Pakistan, or that they representative of people there

Pakistan is a massive country, loads of nuances, loads of poverty, loads of problems from corruption to extremism - both religious and liberal.

You’re not going to find that nuance talking to these elites on twitter, or in a posh cafe/hotel in Islamabad, Lahore or Karachi.

Then there’s those rich elite British Pakistanis. Trying to push their agenda on Pakistan.

When their families back home are rich, while the kids here struggle to speak Urdu or other mother tongue but want to comment all things Pakistan while being completely out of touch.

Just because they’re Pakistani, went to LSE or Soas, and say they know about Pakistan doesn’t mean they do.

They go to Pakistan, live inside their enclaves and chill in massive shopping centres, get drive around and their servants do all the work for them. They don’t know jack and are out of touch.

But again, journalists and others need to get off of twitter (the irony as I tweet this) and actually speak to people around that country.

Many are still religiously conservative but rejected religious parties, but also reject western secularism.

Don’t get me wrong. I have Pakistani friends that are from the elite.

Asian Image:

In this photo Imran Khan, chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, delivers his address in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, July 26, 2018.

They moan about their book festival being cancelled because of some extremists. But are blind to the people going hungry, the wadera system, the child labour….like let’s put s**t in perspective.

I’ve seen grown men and you can see their rib cages, children working on building sites, and others working in fields. While these other Pakistanis are talking about their next holiday to Europe and their next liberal gig.

But they seem to act like they’re an authority on Pakistan, accusing Imran Khan of being an extremist on one hand, yet completely blind to the extremism that has kept people in poverty for decades.

I should make it clear that I’m not an Imran khan supporter, I don’t support any party in Pakistan, but just commenting on some of what I have seen.

I also acknowledge that I was born and bred in the UK my limited interaction has been from working and travelling in Pakistan and Kashmir.

My family come from a village. And def not elite. Like many came here to work and were very very poor. So, I have the privilege of being born and educated in the West.

But I don’t see myself as the same as some of these Pakistanis in the media here or the English speaking ones in Pakistan. Although I’m Pakistani I may be considered a liberal. It’s nuanced and complicated.

People wanted change, fed up of the corruption.


You can travel anywhere in Pakistan and see that. Whether this is the right kind of change, only time will tell, but to call Imran khan an extremist is just ridiculous. You’ve not come across extremists if you think he’s one.

I also once saw a western Pakistani journalists call those protesting in support of Mumtaz Qadri a minority. I was like, yep, but so are you...probably even more so.

But the one thing I will say about Imran Khan is this, he hasn’t got an inferiority complex when it comes to the West, he didn’t need to go into politics, he doesn’t come from a dynasty, and he doesn’t have the corrupt baggage of others (yet maybe).

You can follow Assed Baig on Twitter @AssedBaig