Facing internal threats
PAKISTAN home to 220 million is now being driven into the vicious grip of anarchy, violence and chaos. The private house of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Lahore is now virtually a besieged fortress surrounded on all sides and resisting the onslaught of state forces to prevent the arrest of the former PM on the orders of judicial powers. The scenes around Zaman Park are a true picture of defiance of the law, violence, cult worship, and of course use of indiscriminate force to ensure the writ of the state. Thankfully so far there has been no loss of life or the picture would have been much uglier and more volatile leading to some unfortunate consequences.
The political elite stands exposed by their toxic and hostile rhetoric and their contempt of state institutions and disregard for the law of the land. Civil society today is a sad picture of what is supposed to be a pluralistic society based on rule of law and the national constitution forming the basis of good governance. In recent history we have witnessed the brutal street power of the Tehreek-i-Labaik and now the violent skirmishes between the fanatical supporters of the cult of Imran Khan and the local police force. On the other side the strong coercive language used by the PDM leaders especially Maryam Nawaz and Rana Sanaullah leaves a bad taste in the mouth and are sufficient proof that both sides have no regard for the rule of law and just want to force their will on the basis of their political will and street power. Street vandalism by PTI supporters, damage to public property, threatening judges and generals and the use of religion has become the order of the day and is threatening the very foundations of the state.
A Pakistani court on Thursday rejected a petition from former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s lawyers to suspend a warrant for him to appear in court in a case linked to his term in office — a development that increases the likelihood of another police attempt to arrest the ousted premier. Khan has been holed up in his home in the city of Lahore, where clashes erupted earlier this week when police tried to detain him after he failed to show up at an earlier court hearing in the case. Imran Khan is faced with several charges in legal cases including the verbal threats to a lady judge and is now due to appear in an Islamabad court to answer the indictment that he had illegally sold state gifts he received as Prime Minister what has now become the famous toshakhana case. Judge Zafar Iqbal ruled against suspending the warrant after hearing arguments from Khan’s lawyer Khawaja Harris and the prosecution.
The judge explained his decision by saying Khan had forfeited some of his rights with “his defiance of the court process.”The Lahore high court also extended the pause in the attempt to arrest Imran Khan and that eased the tensions in Lahore after the earlier clashes of PTI supporters with the local police and rangers. The court also banned the PTI from holding a Jalsa on Sunday in Lahore to kick off their election campaign before the provincial assembly elections to be held on the 30th of April. It is yet to be seen if Imran Khan is going to defy the court order or not. Imran Khans admiration and love for the Taliban is no secret. On the Taliban victory in Afghanistan he had proclaimed the Taliban “Have broken the shackles of slavery” and the nexus of the PTI and the TTP is very obvious even today. The TTP have issued an official statement ordering its affiliated groups and supporters to vote for the PTI in the KPK and Punjab provincial assembly polls. Iqbal Khan, a former member of the TTP Swat’s Sufi Mohammad faction is now a part of the Imran Khan-led standoff in Zaman Park, according to a senior journalists of Pakistan and is very openly giving interviews airing his role as the leader of the trained TTP militants to protect Imran Khan and save him from arrest by the security agencies of the state.Top Commander Iqbal Khan of the TTP was freed by Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (retd) under the garb of peace talks and was made a part of the PTI by then KP CM Mahmood Khan.He is in Zaman Park, Lahore these days. The drama enfolding in Lahore is sad, sordid and ugly situation fraught with grave dangers and pitfalls for the country. Unfortunately Pakistan is now on a path full of impediments that could result in chaos and destruction. It is a moment to reflect on future prospects and the dangers of falling victim to the forces of chaos unleashed by our own internal political elite. The threats faced by the nation today are internal and not external.
—The writer is Professor of History, based in Islamabad.
tariq.aqil@headstart.edu.pk
