Khan as an individual should always enjoy the right to come and not come to a place by his own choice. We cannot impose on him anything. But he missed an opportunity to argue and put his ideas and feelings and comments across as a true leader. Here he is not Khan, nor even a Muslim or Pakistani. He is a leader who should not escape the arena. He could have used the Delhi Conclave as his platform as he did it in Kolkata Book Fair only last month. He could freely participate in the debate and tell all the world of his malicious or antagonistic feelings about his enemy Rushdie. It would have resonated around the world. This shows that Khan is not a fighter although we still respect his aggressive bowling and his leadership in Cricket.

As leader of politics and society, Khan is an escapist having no foresight; he cannot take people along with him. He has no goals, has no networking abilities and even in Pakistan he doesn’t have any committed group of followers. Khan could use the opportunity to give vent to his ire. Disagreement is the soul of good debate. It was not expected that Khan will surrender so badly to Rushdie.

India is Rushdie's home. Rushdie was scheduled to speak on The Liberty Verses: I am what I am and That's all I am moderated by author Aatish Taseer, son of slain Pakistan Punjab's governor Salman Taseer. Khan’s fears may be due to his domestic political compulsions. In the Kolkata Book Fair, he had Rushdie for inflicting pain on society. He could have more elaborately dealt with the topic in Delhi Conclave.