By Harsh Pandey
Imran Khan recently wrote an article for a prominent UK Daily. The title of his article, “All that’s left for them now is to murder me- but I am not afraid to die”, captivates the pain of the Ex-Prime Minister who has been lodged in jail for multiple charges. Pakistan’s 16th General Assembly Elections happened on 8th February, where after being denied the symbol of the party, Imran backed 94 independents who won the seats. Candidates backed by him became the largest group in the general elections. However, in Army-engineered elections, once arch rivals PML (N), led by Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif and PPP, led by Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto, shared the power. The recent article written by Imran does not only talk about the struggle he is facing on an individual level or how his party has been stripped of its democratic powers. It essentially talks about the ailments that have been spread from head to toe in the Pakistani state.
What Imran has said?
Imran starts his article by saying that Pakistan today is in a state of paradox where people’s mandate has been played by the hands of the state apparatus. He says, “Pakistan and its people stand in confrontation with each other”. It is also the first time that a mainstream political leader, an ex-Prime Minister, openly attacked the military establishment of Pakistan by naming them. Imran writes, “Gen Asim Munir, the chief of army staff, has tried every tactic to decimate my party’s presence from the political environment of Pakistan”.
Imran further explains how all organs of the states, established initially to create checks and balances for better democratic functioning, have been compromised. He cites examples of how X (erstwhile Twitter) has been blocked in Pakistan, which he identified as a blatant attack on media. Imran explains how the military and intelligence agencies have controlled the higher judiciary. He writes, “Six brave judges of Islamabad High Court have written a letter to the CJP (Chief Justice of Pakistan) highlighting instances of harassment and blackmail including of their families by intelligence agencies”.
Imran then attacked the current government of Pakistan for doing nothing on the economic front, causing multiple crises, such as inflation. Imran’s criticism of the Pakistani establishment did not stop there, and he drew critical junctures from the situation of today’s Pakistan with the Pakistan of 1971 when it lost East Pakistan. Imran also digs deeper into the visible fault lines of the Pakistan state, such as the Baloch nationalist movement. He mentioned what human rights officials and various Baloch activists have been saying for years about the forced disappearances of Baloch people. He also mentioned the precarious situation of terrorism in Pakistan and its impact on its borders, be it Iran or Afghanistan.
What Does Imran’s Article Entail for Pakistan’s Deep State
It has probably been the first time we have heard such strongly worded criticism of Pakistan’s military from a topmost leader who wields a solid democratic power and has emerged as one of the most popular leaders of Pakistan in recent times.
Before 2022, the narrative that Pakistan’s military establishment has been central in uniting the otherwise crisis-laden country has been paramount amongst Pakistan’s citizens. Nevertheless, a section of activists and democratic rights advocates have always resented it. In 2022, as the military engineered ‘no confidence vote’ ousted then Prime Minister Imran Khan, there was a wave of unrest amongst Pakistan’s people, and they attacked Army installations, clearly showing protest against the military.
Just before the general elections’ different courts and the Election Commission of Pakistan worked to stop Imran’s party from contesting the election under one banner. As a result, Imran-backed independent candidates won most of the seats, conveying that Pakistan’s citizens are fed up with the military’s constant meddling with the democracy in the state. It is also a sign of Pakistan’s military’s growing weakness. The article written by Imran Khan will work to demystify the myth of Pakistan’s military as the most revered institution.
It has been two months since the new government backed by the military took control. Negotiations are going on to pull the country out of the deep economic crisis. However, nothing tangible has come out of multiple discussions. Many legislators of Pakistan, while comparing it to India, give the analogy that they are having a fund crunch to run the day-to-day economy while India is sending people to the moon.
The new government in Pakistan is not trying to solve the crisis in Pakistan but only trying to manage it. Because nobody in Pakistan’s elected leadership has a blueprint to solve the deep economic crisis. While Imran Khan, in his article, attacked the United States of America, the new government is trying to kowtow to China and Iran, the main rivals of the USA.
It is worth mentioning that when Imran Khan became Prime Minister, it was also a military-engineered election. As soon as he became more popular, the military establishment ousted him. It created a leadership vacuum in the country and has been a trend in Pakistan, causing fatigue for institutions like the military. The people in Pakistan are at a crossroads where, in the last 50 years, they have not witnessed free and fair elections. It is only fuelling the anxiety amongst the youth of Pakistan.
Can Pakistan mitigate the crisis under Shahbaz Sharif’s premiership? The simple answer is no because the structural issues of corrupt institutions that Pakistan faces cannot be changed with a marionette Prime Minister controlled by those institutions. However, the military’s constant loosening of the grip of power on Pakistan may, after some time, enable the establishment of a democratic government in Pakistan. Imran’s article will also work as a catalyst in this process. It will also be interesting to note how the Pakistan military reacts to the ballistic missiles that Imran has fired, given that it is facing a severe legitimacy crisis.
The author is a PhD Candidate in the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University and a life member of the International Centre for Peace Studies.
(Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of Financial Express Online. Reproducing this content without permission is prohibited.)