ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said he wanted to make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state based on the concept of the state of Madina by our Prophet (PBUH). But, he said, politicians were looked down upon because they say they come in to help the people but they really help themselves.
In an exclusive conversation with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf on social media, he said, “We want to base this country on two principles. One it should be a welfare state and humane state, which takes care of its bottom strata of society, and the second, rule of law.”
Talking about the climate crisis, he said, “When you have a total divorce from the sacred and just operate on the material, which is what is happening in the world. The biggest environmental disaster in the world called climate change was because human beings had moved so far away from the sacred.” He said sacred basically meant humane thinking about others.
He said there was a saying of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) that live for the next world as if you would die tomorrow. “So your deeds should be such that if you die tomorrow, you stand in front of the Almighty and be held accountable but live in this world as if you will live for a thousand years. “So whatever you are doing right now, you should think of the repercussions you will have on humanity for another thousand years,” he continued. “It was a great statement as it completely enveloped everything about the environment and how one should be living on earth.”
The whole environmental movement was sacred, the PM said. He said if one wanted to get close to the Almighty, one had to be humane.
He said the leadership that came up through the political system was just too divorced from faith, so they came in for power and they compromised for staying in power and power was for personal benefits for most of the politicians. “I find very few politicians coming with the specific objectives of looking after humanity. In most of the developing world, they come in power for self-interest and for making money.
“Unfortunately, there were very few Mandelas who came in for a higher cause. Our great leader Jinnah who was the founder of Pakistan was someone who came for a great cause,” Imran noted. Politicians were looked down upon because they say they come in to help the people but they really help themselves, he added.