Imran cornered
No Prime Minister in Pakistan’s turbulent 75-year history has completed a full five-year term. And the writing is on the wall for the present incumbent, Imran Khan, who is running out of allies ahead of a no-confidence motion against him. Ex-cricketer Imran finds himself on a sticky wicket after two key partners of the government — Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Balochistan Awami Party — joined the Opposition front. Imran had come to power in 2018 on the back of his lofty promise to create ‘Naya Pakistan’. It was hoped that he would bring winds of change and ensure much-needed political stability as well as economic revival. However, he stuck to the oft-beaten track — the Islamist agenda pursued by his predecessors over the decades. Imran followed the predictable course of vilifying India and extending state patronage to UN-proscribed global terrorists.
The PM showed his true stripes when he called terror mastermind Osama bin Laden a martyr in parliament and made no bones about his pro-Taliban leanings. No wonder, Pakistan continues to figure on the ‘grey list’ of the Financial Action Task Force, the global financial crime watchdog. The country is grappling with a severe economic crisis, which was looming large even before the Covid pandemic struck, even as it has now reportedly managed to coax China into rolling over a staggering debt repayment of $4.2 billion. Pakistan’s virtually irreparable loss of credibility can be gauged from the scepticism and disbelief with which its National Security Policy document, which evinced interest in mending ties with India, was received earlier this year.
In February, Imran admitted that he could not bring change in Pakistan as he realised that ‘our system was incapable of absorbing shock’. His acknowledgment of the ‘biggest problem’ — no connection between the government and the country’s interests — was in effect a sad commentary on his own glaring failures. As Pakistan seems heading for a new phase of political uncertainty, Imran’s tumultuous tenure would be remembered for frittering away a great opportunity to make the beleaguered nation turn over a new leaf.
