Imran Khan clutching at last straws to save his government
With the Opposition tabling the no-confidence motion against Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) government tomorrow, Prime Minister Imran Khan has turned so desperate to save his job that he turned 180 degrees in his comments towards Pakistan Army after praising the Indian government for its independent foreign policy and the Indian Army for not being corrupt.
According to diplomats based in Islamabad, the no-confidence motion will be tabled tomorrow but the National Assembly will be adjourned due to death of a member. As per Pakistani Constitution, it is mandatory to put the no-confidence motion to vote after three days and before seven days. Simply put, Imran Khan appears to be on his way out.
The present situation is that PTI leadership is trying to convince ally MQM-P not to join the opposition by ditching the government. A five-member bench of Pakistan Supreme Court will be hearing on a petition filed by Attorney General to seek its opinion and directions on Article 63-A of the Constitution, which deals with disqualification of parliamentarians over defection with PM Khan seeking a life-time disqualification for those party members who vote against him.
After being at loggerheads with Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Jawed Bajwa since last year, PM Khan turned turtle yesterday and praised the Army for keeping the nation united and not allowing to get it split three ways on ethnic fault lines. The Pakistan Army has decided to stay out of present political flux in Islamabad but at the same time senior-most generals at Rawalpindi GHQ have informally told PM Khan to put in his papers for smooth transition of power to an interim government.
Despite promising a “Naya Pakistan”, PM Khan has failed to stop Pakistan’s economy from spiraling down while getting deep into Chinese debt in the name of infrastructure development. The matters have further complicated with PM Khan taking uncalled potshots at US and the European powers first on Afghanistan and now on Ukraine. But this is not all.
Even though PM Khan praised the Taliban for breaking shackles of slavery after capturing Kabul last August 15, the present Afghan situation has created more challenges for Islamabad than the much-anticipated strategic space and accompanied leverage. The Taliban headed by Mullah Yaqoob is completely at odds with ISI protected Haqqani Network headed by global terrorist Sirajuddin Haqqani, resulting in prolonged absence of any government in the strife-torn country. Fact is today the various factions of the Taliban are meeting in Kandahar and the accommodation of traditional Taliban leaders is expected in near future.
The failure of the Imran Khan government in Afghanistan become more highlighted as Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan has refused to toe the line of ideological brothers in Kabul and sue for peace with Islamabad. It is understood that the TTP has told the Taliban that it cannot adopt double standards by establishing Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan while opposing the same goal of TTP in Pakistan.
With Afghanistan a potential tinderbox and nationalistic movements flaring up in Balochistan and Sindh, PM Khan appears to be on his exit even though he is trying to pull a rabbit out of his hat to smother his political rivals at the last minute.