With the military making it clear that ‘when the state is at war, the people and the army deal with it together’, things have become more complicated politically.
With the military making it clear that ‘when the state is in a state of war, the people and the army deal with it together’, things have become more complicated politically.
After Failed assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday when he was on his real freedom (Actual Freedom) Long March, things have gotten far more complicated on the political horizon in Pakistan. From the operation theater where he is undergoing treatment, Mr Khan has demanded the immediate removal of the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and a senior serving Major General from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). While some of his chief lieutenants threaten to take revenge on the failed attempt, Mr. Khan suggests that if these three men are not removed, all hell will break out. The events of Thursday and the tenure of Mr. Imran Khan and his party a week earlier had already been predicted.
Following No-confidence vote against Mr. Khan’s government In April of this year, whose dismissal resulted in six months of turmoil even by Pakistani standards (with allegations, conspiracy and alleged conspiracies galore), there was an incident last week that left behind everything that Has happened since then.
A Press Meet to Take Note
Labeled as ‘historic’, ‘unprecedented’, ‘rarest of opportunities’ and ‘nuclear option’, for the first time, the Director General (DG), ISI and Director General, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan’s military Conducted a live joint press conference, in which Mr Khan responded and clarified several allegations about the Army, and without directly naming him, against the current Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Qamar Javed Bajwa. At the press conference the DG, ISI, who according to media reports was the ‘first spymaster to address a live news conference’ said (without naming Mr Khan) ‘You meet Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at night and then make a phone call. him a traitor in the day. The DG, ISI also disclosed that a few days before the no-confidence motion was passed against Mr. Khan’s government. Mr Khan, in March, offered General Bajwa an ‘unlimited extension in term’ to ensure that the vote did not take place. The DG, ISI said he was present when the offer was made: ‘If you thought he was a traitor, why would you do it?’ He asked with a clear reference to Mr. Khan. By every measure, this press conference with the army’s ‘big guns’ (as the media called them) was historic, unprecedented, and revealed a lot, perhaps never before, about the state of Pakistan’s political economy.
close ties
The Pakistani military’s close relationship with Mr Khan goes back at least four years when general elections were held in 2018 and he became prime minister. There were reports in the media at the time that election results were being managed by the army and its agencies to ensure that Mr Khan’s party won. There were allegations of pre-poll rigging, with several potential candidates receiving calls from unlisted numbers asking them to switch party loyalties and support Mr. Khan’s party. Such calls were not answered and loyalties changed overnight, resulting in Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf getting the most votes and seats to form a coalition government in August 2018. In a stinging and bold editorial after the DG, ISI press conference, the Pakistan newspaper, Dawn, wrote: “It is astonishing how brilliant the PTI and the Army have become. There is no doubt now that the military establishment, especially the ISI, has He was instrumental in bringing PTI to power.
During a period of nearly four years, Mr Khan was the prime minister, with all other parties in the opposition calling him the ‘selected’ prime minister. While the United Opposition worked through parliamentary and constitutional means to topple the government, as prime minister, Mr. Khan had the full support of the military establishment; He scoffed at the fact repeatedly saying that the government and the army were ‘on the same page’ for the first time in the parliamentary history of Pakistan. While they were on the same page, Gen Bajwa was able to get extension of tenure by all parties through Parliament, including those in the opposition; The resolution in parliament was passed in record time, with some, mostly religious parties voting against it.
Mr. Khan’s government failed when it came to running the country, but the army remained on whichever page it wanted to go. In November 2021, things started to change; Certain decisions regarding the appointment of key figures in the Army, including the future of current COAS General Bajwa, came before Mr. Khan. Differences emerged and a united opposition was encouraged from November 2021; Perhaps assured of support from major institutions, it launched a successful no-confidence vote against the Khan government and removed him from office, a move that may now backfire.
finding a new voice
Since then, Mr Khan has become the new hero of Pakistan – the most popular politician of all time. After leading rallies in several cities, his party has been able to win seats in the largest province of Punjab and form the government there. In the recent by-elections, Mr Khan himself won six of the eight National Assembly seats. Ironically, after being brought to power by the military, he is now and alone the anti-incumbency champion of Pakistan’s political set-up. He has found a new voice and a new life while out of power and has taken his politics to the people and insisted that elections should be held immediately, in the hope that he will ride this popular wave. However, the current government has not agreed to hold premature elections, which decide that things have turned ‘neutral’.
The press conference of DG, ISI was such an extraordinary event, there was a lot of speculation as to why there were ‘big guns’. In a news report in English, and, importantly, in Urdu, Pakistan’s largest media house, the Jung Group of Newspapers, has asked ‘highly placed military sources’ why a press conference was necessary at this stage. The reply, in English and Urdu papers, was quoted as: ‘A state of war is an environment that threatens the very existence of the state. When the state is in a state of war, the people and the army work together to deal with it. Be it the constable or the senior most officer, all enter the field. Mr Khan and the army have entered a ‘state of war’ in Pakistan.
As we know, war can also lead to complete destruction, bloodshed, negotiations, peace and surrender. What has happened to Imran Khan is a continuation of the process that unfolded a few weeks back, with more drama and hysteronics ahead.
S Akbar Zaidi is a political economist based in Karachi, Pakistan. Views expressed are personal