Pakistan Army in Mission Mode to Destroy Imran Khan: Indian Expert
09:07 03.06.2023 (Updated: 10:50 05.06.2023)
© AP Photo / K.M. Chaudary
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State authorities have launched a widespread crackdown on workers and supporters of Imran Khan's political outfit Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) following the May 9 violence.
The Pakistan Army is set on mission mode to finish off former premier Imran Khan's political career, as well as his party PTI, after the latter's supporters protested his arrest earlier this month, in some cases damaging military installations.
The two flagship cases, PTI members attacked the Corps commander's house in the city of Lahore and torched the Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
Since, thousands of PTI members and politicians have been put behind bars, while those who have later been released have deserted Khan. Latest reports in the Pakistani media suggest that they are now engaged in splitting the PTI to form another party.
Amid these developments, an Indian geopolitical expert has noted that the army is "certainly" behind the intense campaign.
"The way the PTI has been squashed in a matter of days and popular perceptions overturned mainly by arousing sentiments on the grisly events of May 9 bears the hallmark of the most powerful institution in Pakistan - the army," Dr. Priyanka Singh, an associate fellow at India's premier security think tank, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), told Sputnik on Thursday.
The geopolitical analyst pointed out that the May 9 attacks on army installations have been propagated through the prism of loyalty to the country's ultimate saviors - something totally unacceptable to the people at large.
She mentioned that as the violence unfolded, the army chief's resolve to not "tolerate" this was seen as the red line. Pursuant to his stern stance, the entire top rung of PTI's leadership deserted Imran Khan, citing disapproval of the May 9 incidents and even submitting a written undertaking.
"There is hardly any doubt that the army now has taken it upon itself to make sure it neutralizes the party and politics of Imran Khan. The wave of criticism that Khan's politics spurred against the army made it an existential issue for the latter," Singh explained.
She argued that it goes without a doubt that, for now, the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government is acting in collusion with the Pakistan military, and that the shared threat from Khan has mobilized the two sides in their effort to demolish the PTI.
Not long ago, the army nurtured Khan's politics in an era when Pakistan was transitioning peacefully from one democratically elected government to another.
However, the stability of civilian governments in the post-Musharraf era has made the army rather insecure.
Hence, as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) staggered towards completing its term in 2018, Khan was propped up as the essential disrupter whose politics were woven around angst against corrupt dynastic politics while making appealing promises of a 'Naya' (new), progressive and developed Pakistan.
However, as Khan’s popularity rose, despite all odds, he began blaming the previous regimes for the country's ills. He became authoritative while asserting his will and did not shy from calling out the army.
However, as Khan’s popularity rose, despite all odds, he began blaming the previous regimes for the country's ills. He became authoritative while asserting his will and did not shy from calling out the army.
Consequently, the PTI government was dislodged and replaced by a coalition of opposition parties.
Importantly, what was once a rather shaky coalition comprising arch adversaries - PML-N and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) - has survived mainly due to the deepening troubles between Khan's PTI and the army.
"The Sharif government's complicity in annihilating PTI's leaders and cadres is understood in terms of accruing benefits from the PTI-Army rift," the Indian expert stated.
By doing so, the constellation of parties represented in the present political setup seeks to survive and strengthen themselves before elections later this year once the National Assembly dissolves.
Importantly, what was once a rather shaky coalition comprising arch adversaries - PML-N and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) - has survived mainly due to the deepening troubles between Khan's PTI and the army.
"The Sharif government's complicity in annihilating PTI's leaders and cadres is understood in terms of accruing benefits from the PTI-Army rift," the Indian expert stated.
By doing so, the constellation of parties represented in the present political setup seeks to survive and strengthen themselves before elections later this year once the National Assembly dissolves.
