One Year Of Imran Khan’s Government: Celebrations And Protests.
Last week, the Imran Khan government in Pakistan completed one year in office. The occasion was celebrated by the government as a thanks giving day but the opposition held massive protests all over Pakistan, terming 25th July, as the blackest day in Pakistan’s history. All the major opposition parties –the PML(N) , PPP, JeI – joined hands and held protests in Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and elsewhere. Their leaders Mariyam Nawaz, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Maulana Fazlur Rehman accused the government of intimidating its opponents, muzzling the media, leading the country towards economic disaster and bankruptcy, making provincial feelings more acute and working under US dictates. But the worst came from Maulana Fazlur Rehaman who served an ultimatum to Imran Khan to resign in the month of August, failing which the entire country would march to Islamabad to force the government to surrender.
Imran Khan had taken the course of rallies and agitations to dislodge Nawaz Sharif’s government. His protest marches culminated in the ‘Long March’ to Islamabad and a 4-month long round the clock sit-in protest in Islamabad bringing the city to a standstill. The opposition parties are now choosing the same path to dislodge Imran Khan’s government.
Imran Khan came to power on the promise of building a ‘naya’ (new) Pakistan by providing jobs to the youth, improving the economy and providing better governance. But on ground the economy is facing an acute crisis, people are losing jobs and prices are sky rocketing. Ironically, the Pakistani Prime Minister has now issued an order to restore the prices of ‘roti’ and ‘naan’ as if prices of other essential commodities don’t matter. Instead, the Prime Minister resorted to using the National Accountability Bureau against the opposition leaders, resulting in three former leaders, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi languishing in jails on corruption charges. Mr. Zardari has been the former President of Pakistan as well.
The opposition parties have charged Imran Khan of being a puppet Prime Minister as the reins of government are with the military establishment that brought him to power and earned him the nickname of ‘selected’ Prime Minister. The influence of the military establishment on the civil government became evident when the Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa was made a member of the newly created Economic Development Council. For the first time in the country’s history, the Army Chief accompanied the Prime Minister to the US to hold talks with the US President Donald Trump.
This shows the clout the military establishment has in administering Pakistan. It may be recalled that soon after assuming office a year ago, Imran Khan had to withdraw the offer he had made to the Pakistani origin US economist Atif Mian to be on the Economic Development Council after the Army and the hardliners opposed his inclusion in the panel. Since then, there is no looking back for the Pak army. Imran Khan is projected as the civilian face to the government run by the Generals through remote control. Imran Khan also needs the Army to face the opposition parties as his own Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaaf party is not deep rooted in the country.
The control on media is so strong that while the Television Channels broadcast the official celebrations of the 25th July extensively, they were not allowed to telecast protest rallies by the opposition parties. Threats to Media personnel have become more pronounced which is evident from protests registered by the media organizations. Mr. Khan forgets that it is the same media that gave him full coverage for a very long time as an opposition leader, facilitating his victory in the 2018 elections. Of late, there is also a talk of setting Media Courts as a part of anti-media campaign.
In this backdrop the promise of building a New Pakistan based on rule of law seems to be slipping out of Imran Khan’s hands. There could be further confrontation between the government and the opposition parties in the days to come.
Script: Ashok Handoo, Political Commentator
Imran Khan had taken the course of rallies and agitations to dislodge Nawaz Sharif’s government. His protest marches culminated in the ‘Long March’ to Islamabad and a 4-month long round the clock sit-in protest in Islamabad bringing the city to a standstill. The opposition parties are now choosing the same path to dislodge Imran Khan’s government.
Imran Khan came to power on the promise of building a ‘naya’ (new) Pakistan by providing jobs to the youth, improving the economy and providing better governance. But on ground the economy is facing an acute crisis, people are losing jobs and prices are sky rocketing. Ironically, the Pakistani Prime Minister has now issued an order to restore the prices of ‘roti’ and ‘naan’ as if prices of other essential commodities don’t matter. Instead, the Prime Minister resorted to using the National Accountability Bureau against the opposition leaders, resulting in three former leaders, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi languishing in jails on corruption charges. Mr. Zardari has been the former President of Pakistan as well.
The opposition parties have charged Imran Khan of being a puppet Prime Minister as the reins of government are with the military establishment that brought him to power and earned him the nickname of ‘selected’ Prime Minister. The influence of the military establishment on the civil government became evident when the Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa was made a member of the newly created Economic Development Council. For the first time in the country’s history, the Army Chief accompanied the Prime Minister to the US to hold talks with the US President Donald Trump.
This shows the clout the military establishment has in administering Pakistan. It may be recalled that soon after assuming office a year ago, Imran Khan had to withdraw the offer he had made to the Pakistani origin US economist Atif Mian to be on the Economic Development Council after the Army and the hardliners opposed his inclusion in the panel. Since then, there is no looking back for the Pak army. Imran Khan is projected as the civilian face to the government run by the Generals through remote control. Imran Khan also needs the Army to face the opposition parties as his own Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaaf party is not deep rooted in the country.
The control on media is so strong that while the Television Channels broadcast the official celebrations of the 25th July extensively, they were not allowed to telecast protest rallies by the opposition parties. Threats to Media personnel have become more pronounced which is evident from protests registered by the media organizations. Mr. Khan forgets that it is the same media that gave him full coverage for a very long time as an opposition leader, facilitating his victory in the 2018 elections. Of late, there is also a talk of setting Media Courts as a part of anti-media campaign.
In this backdrop the promise of building a New Pakistan based on rule of law seems to be slipping out of Imran Khan’s hands. There could be further confrontation between the government and the opposition parties in the days to come.
Script: Ashok Handoo, Political Commentator
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