ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s mayhem has been exposing flaws in the functioning of its political system, in place for most part of its history.
While attempts to demolish status quo were made in the past too and failed, it seems more serious this time as former PM Imran Khan has challenged the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government and the military establishment — the two key stakeholders of the system.
It appears a do-or-die situation for both sides. The military — or status quo forces that nurtured Imran and his predecessors — has been strategising behind the scenes as the ex-PM’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the government lock horns.
Amid this tussle, courts may have a key role to play. Pakistani courts have, in addition to their legal responsibilities, carved a political role for themselves following a lawyers’ movement in 2007.
Imran, for one, stands for early polls. The government wants his disqualification, arrest and postponement of elections. The military defends the status quo.
The Supreme Court has ordered elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) – two provinces where Imran’s PTI had dissolved its governments. Even as the poll date in KP is yet to be announced, the election commission on Thursday postponed the April 30 elections in Punjab, citing security reasons.
Over the past few weeks, PTI workers and supporters have fought pitched battles with the law-enforcement agencies in Lahore and Islamabad, successfully resisting all attempts to arrest Imran.
Imran has, however, warned that the government and its handlers (army) want to eliminate him. He described a December 2022 assassination attempt and registration of 143 cases as a “death trap” laid for him.
The cricketer-turned-politician told supporters on Wednesday night that the Shehbaz-led Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government planned to bump him off like Murtaza Bhutto — who was killed by police in Karachi in September 1996 when his sister Benazir Bhutto led the government.
According to Imran, the government has devised a plan to conduct an operation inside his home in Lahore in a day or two.
“They have formed two squads that will mix with the PTI workers and fire at policemen,” Imran told party workers and supporters via video link, alleging that Punjab and Islamabad police chiefs and their handlers (army, ISI) had devised the plan.
“I want to tell Punjab police that five police personnel will be killed by them (the government and its handlers),” he claimed, adding that after the possible carnage, the cops would enter his residence and kill him.
The government, nonetheless, has vowed stern action against PTI, describing it a faction of militants trained by banned outfits. Following a police raid on Imran’s house last week, interior (home) minister Rana Sanaullah had alleged that terrorists were hiding in and around the PTI chief’s residence in Lahore.
Such statements from the government indicate the civil-military leadership has decided to be tough with Imran’s party.
While attempts to demolish status quo were made in the past too and failed, it seems more serious this time as former PM Imran Khan has challenged the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government and the military establishment — the two key stakeholders of the system.
It appears a do-or-die situation for both sides. The military — or status quo forces that nurtured Imran and his predecessors — has been strategising behind the scenes as the ex-PM’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the government lock horns.
Amid this tussle, courts may have a key role to play. Pakistani courts have, in addition to their legal responsibilities, carved a political role for themselves following a lawyers’ movement in 2007.
Imran, for one, stands for early polls. The government wants his disqualification, arrest and postponement of elections. The military defends the status quo.
The Supreme Court has ordered elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) – two provinces where Imran’s PTI had dissolved its governments. Even as the poll date in KP is yet to be announced, the election commission on Thursday postponed the April 30 elections in Punjab, citing security reasons.
Over the past few weeks, PTI workers and supporters have fought pitched battles with the law-enforcement agencies in Lahore and Islamabad, successfully resisting all attempts to arrest Imran.
Imran has, however, warned that the government and its handlers (army) want to eliminate him. He described a December 2022 assassination attempt and registration of 143 cases as a “death trap” laid for him.
The cricketer-turned-politician told supporters on Wednesday night that the Shehbaz-led Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government planned to bump him off like Murtaza Bhutto — who was killed by police in Karachi in September 1996 when his sister Benazir Bhutto led the government.
According to Imran, the government has devised a plan to conduct an operation inside his home in Lahore in a day or two.
“They have formed two squads that will mix with the PTI workers and fire at policemen,” Imran told party workers and supporters via video link, alleging that Punjab and Islamabad police chiefs and their handlers (army, ISI) had devised the plan.
“I want to tell Punjab police that five police personnel will be killed by them (the government and its handlers),” he claimed, adding that after the possible carnage, the cops would enter his residence and kill him.
The government, nonetheless, has vowed stern action against PTI, describing it a faction of militants trained by banned outfits. Following a police raid on Imran’s house last week, interior (home) minister Rana Sanaullah had alleged that terrorists were hiding in and around the PTI chief’s residence in Lahore.
Such statements from the government indicate the civil-military leadership has decided to be tough with Imran’s party.
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