Like past, once again, the political situation is precarious in Pakistan with the ousted Prime Minister Mr. Imran Khan able to rally massive support in his favor. He threatens to march into Islamabad with his ‘container’ of ‘Hakeeqi Azaadi’ to demand early elections. In a dramatic turn of events, he got saved from an assassination attempt and then openly blamed the Prime Minister, Interior Minister, and an ISI General for the same.
A few days before the assassination attempt, in an unprecedented action, for the first time in the history of Pakistan, the Chief of ISI himself addressed the media. He pleaded that Pakistani Army men should not be labeled as traitors. He along with the DG ISPR had obliquely attacked Mr. Imran Khan during the complete media brief. Now that Mr. Khan has accused a senior ISI General of the incident, the Pakistani Army is at a disadvantage to clear its name from the assassination attempt on Mr. Khan especially because it happened a few days after the said media brief. In another unprecedented episode, people protested in front of the Corps Commander’s house in Peshawar after the assassination attempt on Mr. Khan. There are videos doing rounds showing men stomping on the Army's armored vehicles. Clearly, the traditional fear of people of challenging the Army is going away.
The current dispensation in Islamabad would be the last one to allow early elections because it understands that any elections at this stage would lend a huge advantage to Mr. Khan. They also would not want Mr. Khan to reach Islamabad and create security problems for the Government. So they too are in the zone of suspicion for the attack on Mr. Khan.
Mr. Khan has been able to generate considerable sympathy for himself. His interviews in the patients’ dress of the hospital he owns are icing on the cake. No one is talking much about his ‘Toshakaha’ misadventures anymore. Public memory is limited and in Pakistan, anyone who promises a ‘New Pakistan’ gets many gullible followers. Mr. Khan certainly could not deliver anything substantial on his claim of a ‘new Pakistan’ during his four years tenure but the public seems to have forgotten that period.
It is not the first time that the people of Pakistan are being taken for a ride. In past too, state propaganda has always kept the facts away from them. Pakistan lost all previous wars with India but one look at the newspapers of those times would suggest as if Pakistan was winning hands down including the time when ninety thousand of its soldiers were surrendering to the Indian Army. Similarly, for many months after the Kargil misadventure, the people of Pakistan were still ill-informed about the treachery Pakistan Army had played under General Musharraf. The modes of public information may have changed in Pakistan but the people are still at the mercy of its self-serving political and military leaders who befool them in turns.
What will happen in the coming days is a question. Will the current precarious political and security situation encourage Gen Bajwa to extend his tenure yet again? If this happens, would it be wrong to say that these conditions were created to justify his extension? Possibilities of imposition of Martial Law are less but Army will remain firmly in control of the internal and external matters of the country while remaining in the background. The hybrid system of government will continue with Army becoming more assertive in its stance as indicated by the tone and tenor of the media brief by DG ISI. The Army has conveyed emphatically who the boss is and would not like any more ‘finger-pointing’ on itself. The said media brief had one silver lining. The generals accepted that the Army had made mistakes in the past but was paying back for these mistakes with its blood. They also mentioned that the country had broken into two in past due to wrong political policies.
The ongoing jostling for power in Pakistan is reminiscent of the circumstances of 1971. Whether a civil war-like situation will develop in Pakistan or not is a question but it is sure that Pakistan is doomed to tread the path of uncertainty and chaos. The power-hungry politicians will keep bickering, the Army will keep pulling the strings, the Mullah fraternity will take sides with either of the two, the Baloch struggle will catch pace, TTP will remain a formidable challenge, Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir will keep protesting against Government apathy, Sindhis and Mohajirs will continue to seek Sindhudesh and Pashtuns will keep demanding Pashtunistan……while common people will pray for ‘Purana Pakistan.’
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