Pakistanis have elected a Prime Minister who is giving hope to Pakistanis all over the world. His popularity is helping the country’s reputation on a global platform. Pakistanis living abroad are obsessed with Imran Khan – the photogenic, tree-planting, corruption-fighting leader of the country, and why shouldn’t they be? I include myself in this category. He has a magnetic pull and his agenda sounds realistically achievable. He is always pushing his product: A strong Pakistan. But most importantly, he seems like a genuine human being.
It makes sense to me why this new leader has been embraced internationally. In his first live speech as Prime Minister of Pakistan, he spoke in an encouraging voice, and I felt like he was talking only to me, in his speech. Khan reminded us that we, although living away, are still one family under the slogan ‘Naya (new) Pakistan.’ He only asks that we hold his hand to build a better Pakistan together. I cried when I saw him wipe his tears while gripping onto the prayer beads as the results were announced in the Parliament.
The day Khan was elected as Pakistan’s Prime Minister was purely magical. The next morning, Pakistan’s football team won the Asian Games after 44 years. That day, we had all sat down as a family at my Birmingham residence and kept our eyes glued to the television, flicking through the various Pakistani channels. Street celebrations began in the United Kingdom as soon as trends revealed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader was winning by a wide margin in the general election. Dancing and expressing joy with loud music, leading to traffic jam, the patriotic supporters came out in several cities, including the country’s capital London – some waving the flag of Pakistan while others carrying a cricket bat – the election symbol of PTI. Their campaign had raised the slogan of change across the world.
- The writer is a Birmingham-based freelance writer
