美国国家公共电台 NPR--Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan shot and wounded at rally

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan shot and wounded at rally

Transcript¹

Pakistan's former prime minister, Imran Khan, has been wounded by gunfire during a massive demonstration² in the eastern part of the country.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The former prime minister of Pakistan has been wounded by gunfire in eastern Pakistan. Imran Khan was riding in a truck as part of a massive demonstration when officials in his political party say he was hit, although not seriously hurt. Some of Khan's supporters were also injured. Imran Khan has been campaigning to force the government of Pakistan to hold early elections since an elections commission in Islamabad barred him from office last month. Madiha Afzal is a fellow with the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, and she joins us now. Thank you so much for being here.

MADIHA AFZAL: Good morning.

MARTIN: I want to step back and get some context. Explain why Imran Khan is still such an important political leader in Pakistan.

AFZAL: Well, Imran Khan is one in a long line of Pakistani prime ministers ousted³ before the completion of their full electoral term in office. But he has used his ouster - that was in April this year - in a really, really striking way, to propel a narrative⁴ that has furthered his popularity. And he's done this by casting the current government as illegitimate. He says they're corrupt⁶, and they were brought into power by the military and America. You know, and of course, the America part is a conspiracy⁷ theory. But he's held huge rally after huge rally in Pakistan, demonstrating street power. And in by-elections that were held in Pakistan over the summer and just as recently as a couple of weeks ago, you know, his party has been winning. So he's really shown that his popularity is translating at the ballot⁸ box, and he's calling for fresh elections.

MARTIN: Were the claims that were used against him to kick him out of office legitimate⁵?

AFZAL: Well, he was kicked out of office essentially⁹ because of a vote of no confidence. But what underlied that was that he had fallen out of favor with the country's military and the military establishment. And that is the reason in all of Pakistan's history that Pakistani prime ministers have been ousted from office.

MARTIN: So the shooting happened, as we said, during this big demonstration that Imran Khan was leading. He's pushing for early elections. But is that the extent of what has brought so many people out to protest?

AFZAL: He is - this protest is a long march that Khan has been saying he would hold. The long march is basically a huge protest that starts in one city and ends up in Islamabad, where he wants - which is the capital - where he will engage in a sit-in, basically, waiting for fresh elections to be announced. The march is titled as the March for Haqiqi Azadi, which means true independence. It's against the current government and the establishment. It started in Lahore last week on October 28, and, you know, it was set to culminate¹⁰ in Islamabad, you know, sometime likely next week. And, you know, he certainly is able to bring out people because many in Pakistan have soured away from Pakistan's sort of old style of politics and the establishment.

MARTIN: And no doubt all the damage from the severe flooding in recent weeks has exacerbated¹¹ that political discontent.

Madiha Afzal is a fellow with the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings. Thanks so much for your context this morning. We appreciate it.

AFZAL: Thanks for having me.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

3 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

4 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

5 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

6 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

7 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

8 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

9 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

10 culminate   

v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮

参考例句：

• The celebration of the centenary will culminate with a dinner.百年庆典活动将以宴会作为高潮。
• Everyone feared that the boundary dispute between these two countries would culminate in a war.人人都担心,这两国间的边境争端将以一场战争到达顶点。

11 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》