Actually , IK never had any principles that he abandoned for a sip of vintage wine from the " chalice " ...he played to the visceral emotions of the public without any regard for the consequences.
Not entirely - people are often victims of their own egos. When you achieve lofty ideals and receive endless praise, it is easy to start excusing your own compromises and mistakes under the guise of serving a "greater cause." Most of humanity does this on a small scale, but everyday people face checks and balances from a boss or a system to keep them grounded.
I have done it, likely you have too along with 99% of humanity.. except for majority of people there are checks and balances from bigger fish - be it humans or a system.
In the position that IK(or for that matter Hafiz jee) - for his impressive achievements and they need no calling out as they are - where you were already in a state of hero worship - then a different type of personality emerges from such achievements which is shaped according to what your baseline character was...
Not the point of discussion here but in a closing note no differrent than what FM, Mushy or even Nawaz come out to be - your underlying personality and environment get amplified and moulded by opportunities and successes to where if you already were someone using cunning and hypocrisy to move up the ladder like Bhutto from his "Zulfi" days.. then you will only amplify those when you start moving up the ladder.
Another extreme example on the other side - Jinnah was a man who built his reputation based on his principles and character. He started as a constitutional lawyer, built his reputation on discipline, legality, and argument, and was known for refusing shortcuts, favors, and political theatre when they cut against principle.
So, if you look at AJK situation now - unchecked ego and belief that "my cause justifies my actions" is exactly why the establishment inflamed the recent AJK protests instead of resolving them and created the opportunity for external players to exploit. On the other hand, Claiming IK would have magically solved it ignores the reality that his leadership, shaped by the same ego-driven hero worship and lack of systemic checks, would have likely made similar mistakes ESPECIALLY since the record on Afghanistan shows proof of this.
Either way, IK hota ya na hota is typical cultist BS. Woh Jail main band hai - kyun band hai, kab bahar ayega , agar bahar ayega tu kya karega sirf khayali pulao time pass hai jo uss ke jiyalay/mureed apne shauq se lage rahein meri bala se.
Iss waqt jo khurpay hain, jo kiya , kyun kya, kya hoga aur kya karna chahiye .. woh dekhiye.
.....btw , sometimes robbers and bandits become cult heroes , does that mean we put them in power because of their popularity ?
