Attack on Imran takes a critical turn

The gunfire on the container in which former Pakistan prime minister and chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaaf (PTI) Imran Khan was travelling with other top leaders of the party was sinister enough. Khan escaped with bullets wounding him in the leg, which incapacitates him for weeks.

It showed that political rivalry has taken a violent turn. Fifteen years ago, Pakistan People Party (PPP) leader and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was shot dead, when she was campaigning. Khan had escaped a bid on his life, no less.

He has accused Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and a highly placed intelligence official for the attempt to assassinate him.

While Sharif had refuted the charge, the army had taken strong exception to Khan blaming the intelligence official because in Pakistan the intelligence is in the hands of the army.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has issued a strongly-worded statement objecting to Khan’s charges. It said, “The baseless and irresponsible allegations by the  PTI chairman against the institution and particularly a senior army officer are absolutely unacceptable and uncalled for.”

The army had played a political role in the past, the last time being when Gen. Pervez Musharraf overthrew then prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999, and ironically the opposition and other critics of Khan had accused him (Khan) of winning the last election with the support of the army.

But it has been seen that the army has taken a backseat though the reasons remain unclear why it has withdrawn and allowed political rivalries and electoral competition to take its own course. So, for the military to have come out openly against Khan’s accusation raises questions as well as eyebrows about the turn of politics in Pakistan.

It is interesting however that Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi, the president is a mere constitutional figurehead in the Pakistan constitutional system, had met Khan at the hospital and he has offered to mediate in his personal capacity among the stakeholders to sort out differences and forge a political consensus.

The president’s offer many not mean much because he is not a powerful politician in his own right, and it is doubtful as to how the bitter political rivals will accept his mediatory efforts.

There is a clear conflict between Khan and the other political leaders in the country. Khan has adopted a messianic mode and he believes that the whole political class is corrupt and they have no moral right to be in power in Pakistan. And he is uncompromising in his belief. Khan also wants to take Pakistan on the Islamic path of righteousness and honesty. What other political leaders suspect and fear in Khan is his religious flavour and fervour.

The others want to use religion in a nominal manner and they want to keep the religious conservatives at bay.

Prime Minister Sharif had requested Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial to form a full commission comprising all the judges of the Supreme Court to look into Khan’s allegations and clear the air.

He said if this is not done, the conspiracy theories will linger for ever in the air. Meanwhile, PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari had condemned Khan for attacking and denigrating the institutions.

He said that Khan is trying to spread anarchy. Tempers are running high as countrywide protests are erupting after the attack on Khan. After being ousted from power through a vote of no-confidence, Khan has been demanding elections, which are due late next year. And the PTI march to Islamabad is to press the demand for elections.

The coalition government of Prime Minister Sharif is in no mood to call for elections immediately. The rest of the political parties feel that the electoral laws should be amended before the elections are held.