Pakistan: Wilting Due To Absence Of a Credible Leadership

“We will never learn from history, perhaps. The midnight robbery on the night of February 8, wherein the verdict of the masses was once again stolen will surely prove to be detrimental to national interests in the long run. It has hurt the nation beyond repair,” said Ishtiaq Ali Mehkri about the elections and their conduct in an article in the Express Tribune. Mehkri is a senior journalist of Pakistan and former editor of Khaleej Times, Dubai. Other experts have also openly termed the elections as the least credible in the political history of the country, which is saying a lot.

Such was the level of micro-management by General Munir to get a favourable result that even those within army families who were supporting Imran Kahn on social media were identified and harassed. In an astounding interview by Haider Mehdi in his you tube channel, his guest Adil Raja has alleged that General Munir has gone to the extent of detaining the families of Pakistan army officers in army messes for questioning and interrogation just because they supported Imran Khan on social media. Haider is a former Army Officer who now actively advocates reforms in the Pakistani system of governance; Adil Raja is also a former officer of the Pakistan army, now a political commentator and security analyst. Both have great credibility in the information domain. Other international publications have also hinted to such arm-twisting tactics by the army. This gives an insight into the critical situation prevalent within the ranks of the Pakistan army that was known to be close knit and cohesive.

In his calculations, General Munir failed to gauge the popularity that Imran Khan enjoyed. Despite being convicted by a Kangaroo court, awarded 24 years’ imprisonment and banned from fighting elections for five years, Imran Khan fielded his candidates as independents, without an election symbol, and won as many as 92 seats in an election that was blatantly rigged by the Army. While Khan emerged as the leader with the maximum support, the others lagged with PML (N) winning 75 seats, PPP 54 seats, MQM (P) 17, JUI (F) 4 and actual independents 9 seats.

The result has humiliated General Munir and his stooges, the Sharif and the Zardari family, to an extent that they cannot even join together to get the 134 seats majority required to form a government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). They are now scared of the inevitable political backlash of the people, should they try any more manipulation. The coterie is in constant fear of the Imran Khan factor and is shying away from government formation till such time that an environment is created to “contain” the PTI. With supporters of Imran Khan enraged by how democracy has been demolished by the army, there is a critical situation in place, wherein, results in several constituencies are being contested.

Containing PTI is not easy. Imran Khan’s lawyer, Shehbaz Latif Khosa, who is also a recently elected independent (PTI) member of the National Assembly has, in a hard hitting interview, said that his party will not rest until justice is done. “We have a decision from 250 million people. And they have decided that they will not be governed without Imran Khan,” he said. “I demand that the President of Pakistan orders his release under Article 45. Imran was not even given a chance to defend himself,” he added. Once the pressure builds the court and the election commission will be compelled to intervene.

The PML (N) is working incessantly to engineer defections within the ranks of the PTI cadre that fought the election as “independents.” This is apparent from the recent joining of some of these so-called independents with the Nawaz Sharif bandwagon. Prominent among them is Wasiim Qadir, an elected independent member of the National Assembly from Lahore

Another beauty of the election is that not a single new face came up to stake a claim for the leadership role. All the winning parties and leaders have ruled the nation at some point of time and have failed to arrest its down slide to the utter chaos in which it finds itself today. The PML (N) and PPP coalition engineered by General Munir about 15 months back has failed to turn around the critical economic condition. It has, thus, failed to stand by its promise to the people. Imran Khan may be the favourite but his rule also witnessed distressing degradation of the country in all fronts. Pakistan, therefore, continues to face a serious absence of credible leadership.

The messy situation will only aggravate in the absence of a strong government. Nawaz Sharif is known to be pro-business; he will try to revive the tottering economy through the medium of a larger civilian control over the administrative structure. The army in turn is unlikely to shed its vice-like grip.

The above is enough reason for General Munir to look for alternatives to Nawaz Sharif also for which the two names that come to mind are Shahbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto of the PPP. It is no wonder that Bilawal Bhutto has also put his hat into the ring for the prime ministerial post. The search for alternatives may go beyond these traditional leaders which will also give a window to General Munir to get out of the leadership imbroglio. Undoubtedly, whosoever holds the office will have to remain within the ambit of the army’s control.

The man of the moment and as per tradition the most powerful man in Pakistan, General Syed Asim Munir, has been left walking a fine line to create a balance in the confusing situation that he has himself created. While juggling with his political options, he is facing dissent from within the army too where a lot many are not happy with the manner in which elections have been engineered and an unpopular selected government is being thrust upon the people.

The silver lining is that the people of the country are determined to use all means at their disposal, however limited they may be, to ensure that democracy is kept alive in the country. The younger generation is unlikely to take things lying down and will respond to every mistake that the army makes. The military is likely to fall under the weight of its self-created contradictions sooner than later.

The critical situation in Pakistan that is erupting in the absence of a credible leadership is a matter of concern for India. It is in such situations that the neighbouring country comes under the grip of external powers like China and the US which is to the detriment of the sub-continent. India will need to keep a close watch on the situation and remain ready to intervene diplomatically and politically if things get out of hand. There is also a need to do whatever is feasible to strengthen the political fabric of the neighbouring country and keep it afloat, this is possible only by identification of a new and more credible leadership.