Pakistan’s Political Future In Turmoil

Ishtiaq Ahmed

London: The arrest of Imran Khan has further exacerbated the political impasse in Pakistan, beleaguered by mounting political and economic crisis. The foreign exchange reserves have dwindled, barely enough to pay for a month’s imports.

The IMF bailout package of $6.5bn remains suspended. Yet, the political leadership remains unperturbed by these challenges. Instead, they rather be playing out their petty and egoistic wars of attrition against each other. They must take the full blame for bringing Pakistan to the brink of civil war.
Following the arrest of Imran Khan by Pakistan’s anti-corruption agency, his supporters have taken to the streets. These protests began soon after the news of the arrest was made public.
IK’s arrest is the latest twist in a political and economic crisis that pits the popular former prime minister against the military and the government.
The police and the army are out in full force to contain and prevent protests but with little success. Large scales of unconfirmed arrests are being reported along with some deaths. Mobile internet services were cut across the country.
The army is accused by the PTI supporters for orchestrating the arrest following unsubstantiated allegation that it was party to masterminding the assassination attempt on his life.
The political situation in Pakistan goes from bad to worse with the arrest of Imran Khan following the failure to find a political compromise between the caretaker government and the PTI.
I for one was surprised by the PTI’s willingness to come to the negotiating table after having consistently refused to entertain any such possibility. Very indicative of PTI’s fluid political thinking and turns and twitches.
It suited the government politicians to enter into the talks with PTI for a number of mitigating reasons: one, to suggest that it is Imran Khan that has been intransigent all along and not them; secondly, that any protracted negotiations would help them to further delay the elections; thirdly, even if there was no desired outcome of the negotiations they could claim reasonableness and blame IK for the failure to reach a compromise.

Both parties were pushed into the negotiations by the army establishment and the Americans, working in cahoot, for different but complimentary objectives. Both not being too impressed by IK’s inconsistent, unpredictable and accusatory tone towards them.
The arrest of Imran Khan on the account of corruption sounds hollow.

I am not suggesting that he is innocent or that he should be treated differently if guilty, but for him to be singled out for the arrest on the charges of corruption in this manner by the regime whose every member should of right be behind the bars for looting and plundering the resources of the country for decades, seems out of place.
The role of the army establishment is enigmatic. It is held high by the public for being the protector of country’s borders but it’s role in the internal affairs of the country over the years is regarded nothing short of catastrophic. For this reason, the Pakistan’s establishment must take blame to what the country has come to be and the current turmoil.
We must stop the present tit-for-tat revengeful approach and return to our democratic chambers for finding political solutions to political problems. There is no other way forward for the nation.

The author is a British citizen of Pakistani origin with a keen interest in Pakistani and international affairs.