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OPINION JUNE 02, 2023 | The Indian Eye 12

to disrupt the peace in the capital
city, Imran quietly earned a political
gravitas unparalleled in recent his-
tory of Pakistan. The last time one
had seen such crowds was in the late
1960s when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had
left Ayub’s cabinet and floated his
political party, unassisted by the mil-
itary, of course.
The popularity he commands
has spoilt Imran, and he has devel-
oped a ‘God complex’ many Paki-
stani observers would say. Neither
he nor his supporters consider it
indecent and improper, leave alone
illegitimate, for Imran to have en-
gaged in financial bungling/corrup-
tion in the twin cases of Toshakha-
na and Al Qadir Trust. For him and
his constituency, he cannot do any
wrong.

The culture of insolence that
Imran Khan has unleashed and

normalized in Pakistan has Pakistan appears more fragile than ever before. The army looks much weakened, perhaps as weak as it was in 1971 (File photo)
taken civility away from Paki-
stani politics. Unfortunately, NAB, might have emboldened Im- Sharif government over the issue of the ‘army’ as an institution. He was
elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakh-
the most timid and cooperative as
ran’s supporters further.
he seems to be dictating the This is perfect recipe for disaster. tunkhwa with the vehemence he was a prime minister vis-à-vis the army,
terms of political discourse to- Pakistan appears more fragile than showing weeks ago. Imran is demon- when he was in office, until he sensed
that the top leadership would not en-
ever before. The army looks much
strating a fear psychosis about his
day, and his opponents, includ- weakened, perhaps as weak as it was possible rearrest which is unbecom- gineer majority support behind him
ing the army top-brass, have in 1971. The judiciary looks wobbly. ing of a rabble-rousing mass lead- in the assembly any more. He was ap-
The political culture of Pakistan has er that he is. So are his henchmen. prehensive that the new Chief would
unwittingly been sucked into turned for the worse and certainly Does it mean, things shall soon not be favorable towards him.
Imran’s anxiety is likely to go
a high-voltage political specta- not conducive for democratic pol- fall back into place? Will the army down once he is assured of a chief
itics. All this is happening at a time
be able to enforce its authority all
cle, centered around him. when Pakistan is faced with the over again in Pakistani politics? Will who would not unsettle him. He may
possibility of economic default and Imran now agree to elections in Oc- not, however, be interested in bring-
In the meantime, the former increasing attacks from insurgent tober, even though the next Chief ing in civilian supremacy that would
army chief General Bajwa has re- groups from within. One of these, Justice of Pakistan (CJP) who would antagonize the army, as an institution.
portedly confessed that when he the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) assume office on 16 September, will His sympathizers within the army,
discovered Imran was becoming a claims it has an alternate Islamic Sha- be somebody (read Qazi Faez Isa) who are rumored to be propelling
headache for Pakistan and decided ria-based blue-print for Pakistan and who may not be as brazenly pro-Im- his rant against the present chief and
to withdraw army’s support from wages an open war against the army. ran as the current one (Atta Ban- his men, would possibly ensure that.
him, he committed a mistake by not Will Pakistan be able to mud- dial)? Will Imran agree to it if he is Pakistan is condemned to pass
informing and explaining the army’s dle through? It seems the army has assured that there would be free and through a whole array of uncertain-
position to the media. Perhaps, it decided to act, after 9 May. A tenta- fair elections? What will happen if ties in the days to come. A strong
was too late for him to do so. Fran- tive political consensus seems to be Imran were to be disqualified like government with the will and capac-
kenstein might have sensed that the emerging now that the acts of vandal- Nawaz after the new CJP takes over? ity for transforming the nature of
monster of support behind Imran ism by Imran’s supporters were un- Will the army take over if it leads to politics in Pakistan can only ensure a
Khan had acquired an independent called for. Imran’s close aide Fawad chaos again? way out of the crisis it is in.
life of its own. has already condemned it and Imran In all likelihood, if Imran de-
The events in Pakistan over the has obliquely criticized it too. Some cides to wait it out till October with- Ashok K. Behuria is Senior Fellow at
last few weeks show that a spectrum of the PTI workers have left the par- out antagonizing the establishment Manohar Parrikar Institute for De-
of vandalism and license haunts the ty over this issue. Whether the army further, he is likely to reap a good fense Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.
country today. The way the unruly has read the riot act or not, to some electoral harvest. The most pertinent Views expressed are of the author and
crowd broke into the official resi- extent, the attack on armed forces question to ask here is, if he returns do not necessarily reflect the views of
dences of two corps commanders in has at least induced some sympathy to power, will he de-notify the cur- the Manohar Parrikar IDSA or of the
Lahore and Karachi on 9 May 2023, among the power elite now, which rent army chief’s appointment and Government of India.
and attacked the air force base in includes the judiciary. pick a new one? Will this (in case he
Mianwali clearly demonstrated that The Chief Justice, after extend- does it) result in civilian supremacy This article first appeared in the Com-
the Djin had gone out of the bottle. ing unrestrained welcome to Imran in Pakistan? ments section of the website (www.
The support Imran received from the during his hearing after his arrest, The last of these questions may idsa.in) of Manohar Parrikar Institute
judiciary, which nullified his arrest seems to be sobering up and not not be difficult to answer. Imran for Defense Studies and Analyses, New
on Al-Qadir Trust case initiated by pursuing cases against the Shehbaz has not ever trained his guns on Delhi on May 22, 2023

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