IMRAN KHAN : The National Education Movement which I wanted to start had to be with the society and the government joining together in the movement, but unfortunately, by the time the hospital (The Shaukat Khanum Memorial cancer hospital for the poor, founded by Imran Khan in 1994) had opened the government had already considered me a threat and had completely refused to help; a boycott effectively. All government departments refused to help me. Remember there was only one television channel then, which was PTV, and that was the only way I could have had a move in, by going on television and mobilizing the people. And, of course, having full cooperation with the government. But by that time I was an untouchable as far as the government was concerned because they perceived me as a political threat. And so that was the end of the National Education Movement. How could I do it alone? What I envisaged was that the people would join in and oversee the government schools, which are all falling apart, the communities would help them, every government school would be over-seen by the community, which would generate extra funds for themselves to help the government which does not have enough funds to mobilize the education system. Instead, the government launched its own campaign, which is still basically on paper.

ISLAMICA : The courts recently overturned a verdict in favor of the men who raped Mukhtar Mai. The decision has made headlines all over the world. How do you see this decision and what steps can be taken to ensure that rural women in Pakistan feel that they have legal recourse when these horrible crimes are committed against them?

IMRAN KHAN : I feel bad for Mukhtar Mai and so many other Mukhtar Mais in Pakistan. But the fact is that it is not just one Mukhtar Mai. It is a whole judicial system that does not protect the weak from the strong. It is not just Mukhtar Mai. All the jails are full of poor people. No rich people ever end up in jail. There was a survey in Pakistan: the two most crooked departments in the government of Pakistan are the police and the lower judiciary. Only the poor go to jail while the rich buy their way out. It is a question of justice in Pakistan. It should not be isolated to Mukhtar Mai. What about the 20-year-old man who was put to 9 years in jail for a crime in which it turned out he was innocent? The sentence for the crime was a 6 month punishment, and he ended up spending 9 years of his life in jail. His family was destroyed by the time he came out. There were three people in Sindh who were in jail for 22 years. Twenty-two years and then they discovered these men were innocent. There was a man, Muhammad Hussain in Lahore, he spent 15 years in jail because they lost his file. What happens to all these people? It is not just one Mukhtar Mai. It does not happen to an influential woman in Pakistan. If a woman is influential, from a rich family, she would be okay. It is only these poor people. It is a problem of justice. If you are powerful, you are safe.

ISLAMICA : First Afghanistan, then Iraq, and now American administration voices are being raised against Iran and Syria. What do you see as a practical Muslim response to the U.S. hegemony?

IMRAN KHAN : There is only one response. The Muslim world should speak as one voice and ask the U.S. to end its double standards. Whatever it asks of Iran why does it not ask of Israel? The U.S. has asked Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and yet … there is Israel occupying so many territories of Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon. Why is a U.N. resolution not effective when Israel is concerned? It is these double standards that are causing incredible anger, and then they talk about democracy in Iraq. And they are saying that Lebanon cannot have democracy if there are 14,000 occupying Syrians. What about 140,000 Americans while holding elections in Iraq? And what about other countries: there may be no democracy, but because they are pro- U.S., they’re fine. These double standards are causing so many problems. In the Muslim world the only hope is democracy. The sad thing is that the only way the Muslim world will be able to represent the aspirations of the Muslim masses would be if you have proper democracy. But we have puppets. We all know that most of the Muslim world is headed by puppets.