It dawned on me that Pakistan’s hybrid government is extremely flawed as I sat writing this article late last night, twiddling my thumbs while waiting for the Islamabad and Punjab police to arrest former Prime Minister Imran Khan. It not only pretends to be democratic, but it also does nothing to advance the powerful military’s interests.
It appears that PM Shehbaz Sharif’s efforts to imprison the former PM have failed. Furthermore, this is in spite of the multitude of right signals from Pakistan’s military boss to ‘figure out’ Imran by starting to lead the pack in capturing him.
Shehbaz and his inside serve, Rana Sanaullah (who has gained notoriety for being basically as proficient as a person from the Wild West), essentially can’t release sufficient fear to train Imran. Additionally, the latter appears to be spiraling out of control, determined to oppose not only the government but also the State.
Whatever happens to the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf in the end, he has unquestionably created an unprecedented tamasha. Indeed, even the most well known Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto didn’t take on the State in such a manner. Or perhaps we haven’t noticed that in the 75 years Pakistan has been independent. The country’s political climate has shifted to reflect both Bhutto’s populism and Mujeeb-Ur-Rehman’s bravery toward the state. However, this does not imply that Imran is like either of them.
Imran appears prepared for battle Known as a master of u-turns, Imran appears prepared for battle, possibly hoping the government will yield. He seems ready to use violence and even pick up some dead bodies on the way, but this strategy might not work for long. His strategy shows signs of high risk now more than ever. He has been dealing with the state so far by using violence. Imran’s close family members informed me that tribal militias guard his home in the Zaman Park neighborhood of Lahore. He appears to be being shielded from the assault of Punjab police officers by Gilgit-Baltistan police commandos.
This is definitely not a standard crook or a dacoit; This is an elected member of parliament shaking everything up—law enforcement, the judicial system, the government, and the military—acting like he or she is greater than all of them and displaying an incomprehensible impudence. Sharif and Sanaullah are excessively aware of the political expense to pull the actual trigger at last. They would rather let the Pakistan Army Chief, General Syed Asim Munir, take full control of the terror campaign against Imran. All things considered, it was Munir who put them at the very front of this fight. It’s clear that Imran is becoming more like Egypt’s Mohamed Morsi, who the top brass would rather get rid of and punish rather than save for another day. This may very well be the turning point that consumes everyone, including the military.
With the possibility of the most harrowing and unpredictable outcomes, increased violence is inevitable. In two distinct cases, the lower courts have directed the police to arrest Imran.
A further Toshakhana case, this one involving the sale of state gifts, will be heard on March 18; stacking legal odds won’t help.
Any common person who fails to appear in court would be severely punished for contempt of court. Be that as it may, as even an Imran fan told me as of late, the previous cricketer-turned-legislator considers himself exempt from the laws that apply to everyone else and all organizations. Additionally, he asserts that the arrest might be a ruse to kill him. He does not want to enter a prison or lockup or ride in a police van. This serves as a reminder of his opponent’s similar fear of Pakistan’s prisons and judicial system, former PM Mian Nawaz Sharif. The leaders of the two main parties in Punjab continue to defy the state and its laws in their own unique ways due to personal egos and genuine fear of harm.
Although the outcome of the Toshakhana case has not yielded results, at least not in the public eye, the fact of the matter is that stacking the legal odds does not necessarily affect Imran’s popularity.
Islamabad’s endeavors to persuade individuals that Imran sold costly gifts given to him as an administration functionary in a crook bid to create gains were weakened when the public authority delivered a nitty gritty rundown on State gifts. It has become evident that everybody appeared to have contributed to this State gift treat container. It never occurred to anyone, including Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Yusuf Raza Gillani, Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, Shahid Khakan Abbasi, and Miftah Ismail, to auction the items and use the proceeds for better purposes. Instead, the Toshakhana was kept a secret so that only a select few of the elite could benefit from it, as well as their families, personal guards, and close associates. In point of fact, the publication of this list may have diluted the argument that numerous individuals, including the author Husain Haqqani, attempted to make: The issue was not with the appropriation but rather with the sale.
Imran’s cause is helped by Pakistan’s unstable hybrid government. Of course, Imran’s strategy was questionable, as was the fact that he did not declare this wealth in front of Pakistan’s election commission. However, this is definitely not the area where supporters would judge him. The leader of the PTI may have felt more confident in his apparent innocence since the list was made public.
