Quetta protest by Pakistan Democratic Movement: An analysis

In this piece, Commodore (retd) C Uday Bhaskar analyses what the coming together of 11 Opposition parties in Pakistan indicates -- the growing dissatisfaction against the Imran Khan government, the collusion between politics and the military in the country, and the increasing Baloch anger.

New Delhi: The PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) which is an 11-party alliance of anti-government political parties, staged its third street protest in Quetta on Sunday, pointing to a complex churning in the domestic power dynamic of Pakistan.

The fiery address by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif through a video-link from London is also indicative of the return to the 'akhara' (wrestling arena) of Pakistan's most senior and experienced political leader who has been vilified, arrested and jailed by the Army since the General Musharraf coup of 1999.

The current Imran Khan-led PTI government in Pakistan that assumed office in August 2018 is seen to be one 'selected' by the army in Rawalpindi and PM Khan is perceived to be beholden to the army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The latter was accorded an extension of service by Khan which raised more than an eyebrow and this in turn, has resulted in an army chief-PM dependency that is not unfamiliar in the Islamabad-Rawalpindi relationship. Ironically, in his first stint as Prime Minister in November 1990, Nawaz Sharif was also seen as a civilian politician who was 'preferred' by the army at the time.

Two years of inept governance dominated by a single-point agenda of targeting political opponents by the Imran Khan government has led to growing disaffection in the Pakistani streets and this was the catalyst for the formation of the PDM in September. The main opposition parties comprising the four big boys -- the PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz); PPP (Pakistan People's Party); JuI-F (Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazlur) and the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party form the core. The other parties include the Baloch National Party and the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement, all of whom have set aside their differences to form the PDM.

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The President of this anti-Imran Khan alliance is veteran Pashtun leader Fazlur Rehman of the JuI(F) and the more visible younger leaders include Maryam Nawaz, the Vice President of the PML-N who is the daughter of Nawaz Sharif; and PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari – grandson of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (former PM of Pakistan sent to the gallows by General Zia ul Haque) and son of Benazir Bhutto, also a former PM of Pakistan who was assassinated in December 2007.

In a clarion call that pitted the legitimacy and strength of the voter against the oppression of the army that has long wielded power in Pakistan, the three-time former PM Sharif asserted: "Looking at this enthusiasm, I am sure that no one will be able to violate the vote's respect now. I saw this enthusiasm in Gujranwala and Karachi, and now I'm seeing it in Quetta."

Sharif was referring to the democratic impulse visible in earlier back-to-back PDM street protests in Gujranwala, Punjab and Karachi, Sindh in mid-October. The Quetta, Balochistan protest on Sunday testifies to the reach of the PDM across the three largest and most populous provinces of Pakistan – Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan and the signal to the Imran Khan government is unambiguous.

What is distinctive about the PDM stance is that for the first time in the public discourse of Pakistan – a former PM Nawaz Sharif has castigated the army in public and laid the blame for his own ouster at the door of General Bajwa.

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In his address to the PDM cadres in Gujranwala (October 16), Nawaz Sharif described the army as the 'state above the state' and accused Bajwa by name for colluding with the judiciary and having him removed from office and installing Imran Khan through an election deemed suspect. This could well be described as a remote-controlled coup.

In a very unusual development, even by Pakistani standards, the Karachi PDM protest (October 18) was followed by the Pakistani Rangers (controlled by the Pakistan Army) intimidating the top police official in Karachi and arresting the son-in-law of Nawaz Sharif on charges that seemed frivolous. This led to the Sindh Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Mahran proceeding on leave in protest for being 'ridiculed and humiliated' and his action – to go on protest leave – was emulated by his subordinates. A very anomalous situation had arisen, pitting the Pak army against the Sindh police and a further breakdown was averted by the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari seeking the intervention of the Army Chief, General Bajwa.

An enquiry whose report is to be submitted in 10 days (by October 30) has helped to assuage police sensitivities and the IG Police has deferred his protest leave – implying that the situation remains tenuous. Speaking in Quetta about this Karachi incident Maryam Nawaz highlighted the 'state above the state' syndrome being manifest in: "The way the IG (inspector general) was kidnapped, the way they raided the hotel and my room."

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Further, linking this with the long-festering local Baloch anger against the Pakistan army and intelligence agencies, she added: "The people of Balochistan can understand what the mental condition of your opponent is when the rooms of the nation's daughters and sisters are broken into. They gave a practical demonstration of what a state above a state is."

PM Imran Khan came to office by mobilising street-power and was also enabled by the covert support of the army top brass who wanted to place a pliable civilian leader in the hot seat while remaining the 'state above the state' – the Rawalpindi-Islamabad hierarchy.

Currently, there is some rumbling within the army about the extension given to General Bajwa and the manner in which the next army chief will be chosen. PM Imran Khan faces multiple challenges that go beyond his handling of the covid pandemic. His nonchalant claim that he is the true face of democracy in Pakistan is being tested on the anvil of popular opinion. This is now manifest as angry citizen resentment now seen in Quetta.

The domestic tea leaves are stirring in Pakistan and both Delhi and Beijing will be monitoring developments through their own prisms.

(The author, C Uday Bhaskar is the director of Society for Policy Studies)