Our prime minister is an intriguing man whose personality seems to elicit some pretty polarizing opinions.
So it’s no surprise that Aatish Taseer’s profile of Imran Khan for Vanity Fair has done just that. In a piece written for a largely international audience, Taseer writes about how Khan “remains torn between his years as an Oxford-educated playboy and his growing role as a critic of Western decadence”.
Nothing more enjoyable at the moment than the banter and restless outrage being played out between those who liked the Vanity Fair profile on Imran Khan and those who didn’t.
— Usman Ahmad (@UsmanAhmad_iam) September 13, 2019
Of course desi folks are having a field day on Twitter:
A lot of people thought it was on point and incisive
This Vanity Fair piece on IK. An interesting discussion of the contradictions in his personality, though the writer didn’t have to quote the likes of Rushdie. IK’s definitely much more complicated than what his diehard fans and outright haters portray https://t.co/S4Z0jplMRt
— Aqil Sajjad (@AqilSajjad) September 12, 2019
Apart from some meh quotes and some silly writing that needed to be edited out (the ‘ethnographer voice’ is so jarring), this Vanity Fair piece on Great Leader by Aatish Taseer is on point for the most part. https://t.co/tI2RKO2TqU
— Zebunnisa Burki (@zburki) September 13, 2019
What a masterpiece! So lyrical, so incisive, so charged and so humourous…I will run out of words to describe this stunning profile by @AatishTaseer. Must, must read. https://t.co/zxSpqdjaSx
— Aima Khosa (@aimaMK) September 12, 2019
This Imran Khan profile veers from insightful to superficial – has some great quotes, and some really terrible ones. Some problematic passages and omissions but a good approach to profile Imran Khan through the life he left behind – https://t.co/SRDyhG9S6P
— Shaheryar Mirza (@mirza9) September 13, 2019
Some thought it was an elitist flex on the writer’s part (they wouldn’t be wrong)
That Vanity Fair article was less about Imran Khan and more an excuse for Aatish Taseer to name-drop how many of the rich and privileged he knew.
— Hassan A. Niazi (@HNiaziii) September 13, 2019
Also the irony of talking about how IK loves the elites, while the author drops names and mentions his family connections from Yousaf Salahuddin to Musharraf’s government. If he disassociated himself from all that and created a distanced point of view, I must’ve missed it. https://t.co/IzRxB2xsf6
— نمرہ (@namra_gilani) September 13, 2019
While his Imran Khan profile is un-put-downable, his sources are extremely flimsy. A pop star at the center of Pakistan’s most high profile #MeToo case & a jilted ex wife who claims Imran snorts enough cocaine to kill a baby elephant! 3/4
— Bilal Lakhani (@MBilalLakhani) September 13, 2019
‘One of Pakistan’s most famous actresses, Mehwish Hayat, leaned against a bolster, languidly smoking a cigarette.’ Absolutely unnecessary line in a vanity fair profile of imran khan.
— Jajja (@SumairaJajja) September 12, 2019
On the face of it, this is a good article, and the conclusions it reaches are what I would ostensibly expect from a good article. But there are just so many issues with it.https://t.co/2NR0QIKUqU
— Ahmer Naqvi (@karachikhatmal) September 12, 2019
I see some serious critics of Imran Khan’s policies in #Pakistan lauding the Vanity Fair profile as a masterpiece. It’s certainly well-written but do you think a foreign audience won’t see through the exaggerated hearsay that serves as the only citations for its bold assertions? https://t.co/93WR3uc3FH
— Adam N Weinstein (@AdamNoahWho) September 13, 2019
While you’re just here like…
I’ll eventually read the Vanity Fair article on Imran Khan but for now I want to enjoy the diverging views on the article on Twitter. Popcorn time.
— Jahanzeb Hussain (@hussainjahanzeb) September 12, 2019
