No Doubt, since the removal of Imran Khan from power, it has been extremely sad and painful for Pakistanis living in Pakistan and abroad. Already an impoverished country, it has slipped into economic uncertainty and political instability. This article seeks to answer the most difficult and unpleasant question for some: who’s at fault?
Soon after the former prime minister Imran Khan was dismissed, through a vote of no confidence, he was arrested on corruption charges. It must be said that it is utterly inconceivable that the 13 or so political parties that comprised the PDM, which brought Khan down, could even agree to talk to each other, let alone sit together without an almighty kick delivered to their backsides by an equally almighty boot. Analysts and most of the public believe that it was the illustrious Gen. Bajwa’s boot that did the trick. Why did he have to do this? Well, Khan wanted the military to exit from power politics and go back to the barracks and leave the decision-making to the politicians, elected through fair and transparent elections. By Gen. Bajwa’s admission, the military did interfere in politics with disastrous results for the country since its creation. Furthermore, Khan was moving too quickly to get the Muslim countries together and shift Pakistan’s reliance on trade and aid from America to Russia and China, two sworn enemies of the USA. With Pakistan in possession of the atomic bomb, America, its’ tiny protégé and their allies cannot leave Pakistan alone. They do not want to see Pakistan progress economically, scientifically, educationally or militarily to become a perceived danger to the little master. The book, “No Exit from Pakistan”, tells it all.
After his removal, Khan knew that his days in politics were numbered so the political rallies, protests and criticism of the generals and the institutions increased. PTI soon gained popularity and became a political force to be reckoned with. The generals and the PDM did not foresee this. They believed that the rise in prices and inflation during his tenure had made Khan so unpopular that he wouldn’t be able to recover from this. They made some crucial mistakes: they accused Khan of corruption and started hundreds of trumped-up charges against him hoping to break his spirit and force him to run abroad. Khan didn’t run. Unlike Nawaz and Zardari, he had no property overseas. It also turned out that the public knew Khan better. He could be anything else but NOT corrupt. Corruption charges against him did not go down well with the public and his popularity increased. But he did make some crucial mistakes which a seasoned politician would not have made. He attempted to curtail press freedom (it’s worse now) and some of his MNAs and allies were bought out as he didn’t keep in touch with them. He did not consult his parliamentary party on crucial issues but acted on the advice of a few and made unilateral decisions. Resigning from the National Assembly was a silly move and then dissolving provincial assemblies left him with no power base and open to abuse, further trumped-up charges and subsequent imprisonment. If this wasn’t enough, someone staged attacks on government and military buildings on May 9 and Khan ended up getting the blame. But to the dismay of the PDM and generals, it didn’t dent his reputation or popularity despite a Machiavellian crackdown on his party workers. The difficulty for the PDM and the generals was that even a child could see what they were up to. The final nail in PTI’s coffin came with unprecedented arrests, abuse of individual human rights and departure from the constitution. The PDM, the generals and now the caretaker government also claim to run the country in accordance with the law and the constitution, but it simply isn’t. It’s so obvious for all to see.
All state institutions, the election commission, the judiciary and the army, are facing internal turmoil. The country is in a constitutional crisis, politics are polarised and the economy is in a shambolic state. The tragedy for Pakistan is that neither the generals, the politicians, nor the judiciary have shown any willingness so far to pull back. The economic and political stability of the world’s fifth most populous country is in disarray. Polarised politics are tearing the country apart as some analysts and a few visionary politicians have said. Mr Khan rightly alleges a “reign of terror” as his supporters are tortured and face military courts. The world has taken notice of these extra-judicial arrests, tortures and detentions of women and other PTI supporters who are then forced to hold press conferences announcing resignations from PTI. They are then released.
Peace and justice-loving people the world over are perturbed by these inhuman actions and call on the country’s institutions to lift the ban on media and respect freedom of speech, and human rights. Also, as per the Guardian newspaper’s advice, the military should go back into barracks and concentrate on defending the homeland.
This is the opinion of Sufi Abdul Aziz, writer & political commentator. www.aziz4justice.co.uk