IMRAN KHAN’S DILEMMA “I’ve to listen to ton-loads of advice every day from celebrated journalists to self-appointed Aristotles.”

Those people who accomplish the ultimate in recognition, generally acquire a reasonable degree of immunity from getting flattered. It goes without saying that all persons who rise to a high level of recognition and power become favourite targets of the potential flatterers. Those who acquire recognition and power irrespective of their lack of inborn potential and laboriously developed attributes, are quite soft targets.
For example if Mian Nawaz Sharif hadn’t been picked up by a bevy of generals to lead a political movement and party against the daughter of ZAB, he would have been dismissed as an idiot by those who eventually elevated him to the stature of a demi-god through flattery. These Khwaja Asifs, these Ahsan Iqbals, these Shahid Khaqan Abbasis and these Saad Rafiques etc would then have laughed at people who would mention the name of Nawaz Sharif in context with intelligence.
It was unthinkable for the great Quaid to come under the influence of the flatterers. He could probably have not been immune to lending an attentive ear to someone comparing him with Shakespeare and Plato. But no flatterer could have gained anything out of this kind of flattery.
ZA Bhutto however chose Iskandar Mirza to tell: “Sir don’t regard this as any kind of flattery. This is an absolute truth I am telling you. Your place in history is above Jinnah, because you are gifted with far higher qualities”.
ZAB did benefit a lot from this kind of flattery for which he chose the right kind of a person. We are not aware of how he flattered the Field Marshal.
I am writing all this in the context of Imran Khan, this man if had not entered politics and risen to the heights he was destined to rise to, would still have been Imran Khan— a super star of the whole globe.
What would one to say to him to have him flattered? “You look like Gary Cooper”?
Imran Khan in his mind would say: “You stupid I am Imran Khan.”
To flatter a man like Imran Khan— a man like A.Q. Khan— a man like Edhi, is a Herculean task. Imran Khan’s great personal dilemma is: “How much advice per day he can take to stay SANE?”
I remember a conversation of some years back.
“May great tragedy Akbar Bhai is that I have to listen to ton-loads of advice everyday from celebrated journalists— to self-appointed Aristotles—and still sleep peacefully.”
Imagine today’s Imran Khan— the Prime Minister of Pakistan— surrounded by an Army of Advisers!