New Delhi (dpa) – British author Salman Rushdie lashed out at Pakistani cricket captain-turned-politician Imran Khan, describing him as a “dictator in waiting,” media reports said Sunday. Rushdie was speaking at a conference in New Delhi from which Khan, founder of the popular Pakistan Movement for Justice (PTI) party withdrew, saying “he did not dream of being seen with Rushdie for the immeasurable hurt he has caused to Muslims.” Rushdie attacked Khan for skipping the India Today Conclave, organized by the India Today news magazine, and said the neophyte politician was not a liberal. “I'm not sure Imran Khan has liberal points of view and I think if he ever gets in the seat, we might see the consequences,” he said. “He has made deals with both the army and the mullahs. I think that's pretty clear, in order to be where he is,” he said in comments broadcast on CNN-IBN network. Pakistani observers speculated that Khan, known for his close links to religious parties, decided to stay away from the event for fear of backlash from conservative circles in Pakistan. Rushdie denied causing harm to Muslims through his writing. “Fanatics cause biggest harm to Islam. Immeasurable harm has been caused to Muslims by terrorists,” he said. Rushdie's 1988 novel, The Satanic Verses, created a storm in the Muslim world and Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a death edict, forcing the writer to spend the next 10 years in hiding. The book is banned in Pakistan and India. Two months ago, Rushdie withdrew from the Jaipur literary festival after threats by Muslim groups. Rushdie also criticized the Indian government and some of its political leaders of “cowardice” over their failure to defend the freedom of expression amid protests by Muslim and Hindu radicals. “In India, religious fanaticism and political opportunism and, I have to say, public apathy is damaging the freedom on what all freedoms depend, freedom of expression,” he said. “Freedom is not absolute, if you don't defend it, you will lose it.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/EX7CQ Tags: Dictator, Imran Khan, India, Pakistan, Rushdie Section: Entertainment, Pakistan, South Asia, Sport, Written Word
