Hyderabad: Sending leaders to the gallows, exiling them to death, locking them up in jails, and detaining them in their houses has been a feature of Pakistan's history, and it seems to be a never-ending phenomenon. The latest development occurred in the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday when former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, was to appear before the court in two of the many cases. He was arrested, dragged, and whisked away in a combat vehicle like a fugitive by security forces in riot gear.
The game of thrones in the country has begun, with elections scheduled for the last quarter of this year. The present dispensation will make every effort to keep their powerful enemy, the head of the main political party Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI), at bay and make sure he does not contest the upcoming elections. Conviction in a case or cases, including Toshkhana, would disqualify him, and he would not be able to fight elections for which the current regime has probably arrested the former premier of the country. Anticipating this, Imran's party pushed for early polls, which were thwarted due to a tiff between the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the government.
Khan did get a major relief from Pakistan's Supreme Court which, on Thursday, declared the former prime minister's arrest "illegal" and ordered his immediate release after he was produced before a bench on its orders. The bench, while hearing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman's plea against his arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case, expressed anger at the way he was taken into custody by paramilitary Rangers and ordered authorities to produce him before it. The bench had directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to produce the 70-year-old leader Khan by 4:30 pm (local time) when the court would reconvene. The apex court declared that Khan's arrest was "illegal" and of no consequence and ordered that he should be set free.
As his supporters await his release after the court order, Imran Khan must have clearly understood by now that he is not more the blue-eyed boy of Pakistan's army since they have sided with the present dispensation. Even the Afghanistan Taliban seems to have changed their loyalties and turned their back on Imran, who was once their savior and admirer, particularly in the aftermath of their Afghanistan takeover. It was Imran's government that proposed solutions to the Chinese government over the Uygar crisis, which had been an eyesore for the communist country. China praises Pakistan's army while making no remarks for or against Imran at a time when he needs them the most. The Chinese position over the latest developments demonstrates that silence may sometimes be used to avoid active participation.
China understands that whatever is happening in Pakistan is not new and that this situation has the potential to snowball into an unimaginable scenario. There have been many such incidents in the past where people who held top offices have been imprisoned and even sentenced to death, like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, for ordering an assassination plan against Ahmad Raza Khan, a staunch critic of the then-Bhutto government. His father, Mohammad Ahmed Khan Kasuri, was killed in the covert attack aimed at killing Raza. Ahmad Raza had a narrow escape in the assassination attempt.
Similarly, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was arrested and sent to prison for three months for chanting anti-government slogans. Another leader, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Hussain Suhrawardy, was kept in solitary confinement for defying the military rule and not accepting the elected government's overthrow by the then-military leadership. Gen Pervez Musharaf threw former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief into exile. Gen himself died in exile in Dubai this year in February. Both have held Pakistan's highest office. As Franz Phenon's book, Wretched of the Earth, says, "The desire of the oppressed is to become the persecutor." This is telling and fits excellently in the context of many premiers of Pakistan who persecuted others and were persecuted by their contemporaries.
The current situation in Pakistan will have a long-term bearing on the country's financial situation, which is already grappling with huge debts and subsequent inflation, which has risen to about 47 percent in the last week. The dialogue with IMF for bailout money has been stalled due to the ongoing crisis following the change of guard that needs immediate attention given its priority for the people. Pakistan's currency against the dollar traded at 290 rupees on Wednesday.
The political unrest and violence after Imran's arrest have placed the country on the cusp of large-scale bloodshed. People in thousands have poured on the streets with many of them expressing their anger by damaging public property. Imran’s PTI holds huge influence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Punjab, and if in any case, the Supreme Court order is not followed, and Imran is kept in detention, things can go from bad to worse for the country that is already facing an economic crisis.
Given the current military leadership's proximity to the Taliban leadership of Afghanistan and Imran’s influence in the tribal belt of KPK and Balochistan, the country is strategically crucial for India and China. China will try to water down the crisis without directly burning its hands because any escalation in the tribal belt will have an impact on CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor). The current military leadership might try to shift the focus of the country on LoC to avoid any further escalation into the ongoing crises. How the situation unfolds would be interesting to follow.
Also read: No stability in Pakistan, country to remain on 'ventilator', says security expert Tilak Devasher
