Imran Khan vs the Pakistan army: What's next?
Since Imran’s arrest, the clashes have been between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activists and the current coalition government, which has now called in the army as an aide
Already economically turbulent, Pakistan has recently been engulfed by a new crisis – one that is very political in nature and has repeated itself over and over again in the nuclear-armed South Asian country's nearly eight decades of existence.
On Tuesday (9 May), the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government, comprised of two of the country's political powerhouses – Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (N) – under the banner of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), arrested ousted prime minister Imran Khan in a corruption case from outside the premises of Islamabad High Court where he had gone to seek bail in multiple FIRs registered against him.
Following Khan's arrest, there has been nationwide unrest. At least eight people have died in the violence that has aggravated instability in the country of 220 million. More than 1,000 protesters have been picked by the police in Punjab alone. Authorities have restricted access to Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms, as well as mobile broadband internet.
Senior PTI leaders, including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who served as foreign minister in Imran Khan's cabinet during his four-year premiership, have been arrested. Many major cities of the country were being policed under Section 144, which curtails fundamental rights. Protesters have even stormed military buildings and ransacked the residence of a top army general in the eastern city of Lahore.
Political parties under PDM, despite the many sufferings of their own leaders, are aiding in the crackdown. Key communication services remained offline as the state scrambled to keep protesters from organising on a larger scale, and the army had been requisitioned in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
The chaos led the Pakistani government to call in the army to help quell deadly unrest. The Pakistani army, more often referred to as "establishment" in the country, issued a statement saying it had shown restraint during earlier violence but any further attacks on the military or law enforcement agencies, state installations and properties "will be met with severe retaliation".
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Hitherto, all the political unrest in Pakistan has usually been one political party protesting against the military dictatorship. The armed forces remain Pakistan's most powerful institution, having ruled it directly for close to half its 76-year history through three coups. Despite its major influence it recently said it was no longer interfering in politics.
There is a joke about the Pakistan army: "Every country has an army except Pakistan where an army has a country." However, since the 9 May developments, the clash has been between Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activists and the current coalition government, which has now called in the army as an aide – effectively being a nod to that old joke.
So, what happens next in Pakistan?
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke to the nation on Wednesday (10 May) night, calling Imran's arrest lawful, condemning the mob riots that took place on Tuesday and Wednesday, and warning that strict action will be taken against anyone taking any illegal steps.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who is also the chairman of PPP, on Thursday (11 May) said that it was imperative for PTI to maintain its status as a political party and not transform into a group that supports terrorism.
He stated, "They [PTI] decided to engage in an armed rebellion against the state, then it may become necessary for the government to ban the organisation as a last resort.
He, however, expressed hope that the government would not head in that direction.
The Pakistani armed forces said that 9 May 2023, the day PTI Chairman Imran Khan was arrested, would go down in history as a "dark chapter".
It claimed that the army was targeted as a part of a "well-thought-out plan."
"On the one hand, these evil elements vigorously stir up public sentiments to fulfil their narrow and selfish goals and on the other, they do not get tired of highlighting the importance of the army for the country while throwing dust in the eyes of the people. This is an example of hypocrisy," Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement on Wednesday (10 May).
The facilitators, planners, and political activists involved in the protests have been identified and now, strict action will be taken against them "in line with the law and all these evil elements will now be responsible for the consequences", the army said.
The ISPR added that any further attack, by the "very group that wants to push Pakistan into a civil war", on the army, all law enforcement agencies, military, and state installations and properties will be met with severe retaliation. No one can be allowed to incite people and take the law into their hands."
With the Pak military's latest statement, the Shehbaz government is increasingly being seen as the B Team of the much more powerful player in the country's political arena.
But that could come back to haunt the ruling coalition.
As Dawn, a leading newspaper in Pakistan, wrote in its editorial, there is little that is democratic about the manner in which the PDM leaders have chosen to act, and they may one day pay a heavy price for their complicity today.
For now, Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the "immediate release" of Imran Khan, terming his arrest as unlawful. But what the military and their B-team have in store for the former prime minister next remains to be seen.
