Pakistan is once again in turmoil. The last few days have been marked by violent clashes between the incarcerated former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s supporters and state forces. Over a hundred people have been killed in the unfolding violence. The country has witnessed an unprecedented deployment of forces to thwart the protests by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI), Khan’s party, seeking his release. However, despite the lockdown, demonstrators, some armed with slingshots and sticks, pushed through security barriers and reached the capital’s D-Chowk area despite heavy resistance.
The situation looks set to get worse before it improves. Both sides – PTI and Pakistan’s Army-government combine – have dug in their heels. They are unwilling to give in or reach a negotiated settlement. Khan has apparently refused to cut a deal. He has a point when he says that the last year’s elections were rigged to bring the current Muslim League-PPP coalition to power. He wants the power to be handed over to the PTI, widely believed to have won the last year’s polls.
Pakistan’s mounting political challenges have been compounded by its ongoing economic crisis. The country was bailed out last year by the International Monetary Fund that has put its own strict conditions while extending the financial package. In addition to that, the country’s current political climate is hopelessly polarized.
So we have a situation where a cascade of crises are colliding in the country. Khan’s continuing arrest and the unfolding mass protests could push the country to the brink. The lingering unrest if not addressed in the near future could also have repercussions for regional stability. But it is only Pakistan that can save itself. Its coalition government, the powerful military establishment and the judiciary have to work together to resolve the unsettling situation. Failure to do so will be catastrophic for the country.
Democracy in the country for all its trappings isn’t organic. The establishment is widely believed to have a role in who rules Pakistan. Khan himself was once accused of being propped by the Army and now the current rulers are also facing the same accusation.
That said, this is not the concern that is at the heart of the current turbulence in the country. The question is a larger one: What constitutes a nation and who does it essentially belong to? A no-brainer answer to this is that people make up a nation. And by that definition, the legitimacy or otherwise of any action can be gauged by how it corresponds with the interests of people.
In Pakistan it is this contest that is currently playing out, a tug of war between its people and its elite. Truth is Khan is arguably the most popular leader now in the country, something that is also borne out by an overwhelming public groundswell in his favour and also by the recent by-polls. And any solution can only result if Khan is released and the true mandate of last year’s election is respected.
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