Imran Khan in head-on collision with Pakistan's powerful military
By squarely blaming Army Chief Gen Asim Munir for his dramatic ‘abduction’ from the Islamabad high court and arrest last week, former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan appears to have put himself on a collision course with the country’s powerful military establishment. Both share a bitter history, as Gen Asim had as head of the ISI in 2019 uncovered a racketeer co-opting Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi for his shady deals. Imran sought to shoot the messenger by transferring him out of the ISI.
Known to be otherwise upright, Gen Asim has no sympathies for Imran, against whom serious corruption charges seem to be crawling out of the woodwork every other day. The former PM had earlier charged that a top ISI officer, Major General Faisal naseer, was plotting to kill him.
Fixing political opponents is among the skill sets ISI officers are known to possess, as Imran’s loyalist Lt Gen Faiz Hameed had forced his predecessor nawaz Sharif into exile through a mesh of graft cases. The cricketer-turned-neta, during his tenure as PM, had cultivated a clutch of top army officers, including a Corps Commander posted in Lahore. That officer refused to act against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vandals who ransacked his residence following Imran’s arrest on May 9. PTI mobs also stormed the Army General headquarters in Rawalpindi, making it a black day for the military.
Imran had urged his party to hit the streets if he were to be arrested but refused to take responsibility for their rampage. After the surprise attacks by rioters, Gen Asim has announced zero tolerance for further acts of vandalism on security establishments. Parallelly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif gave the law enforcement agencies three days to round up all involved in the violence, which could lead to fresh confrontation. Given that Gen Asim does not want Imran back in power, any further unrest would give the government a handle to ban the PTI, citing the threat to national security. At present, the judiciary appears to be Imran’s lone ally.
But with Pakistan Chief Justice Bandial due to retire in September, that crutch would crumble before the nation goes to polls. In the end, Imran’s ability to arouse passion and create a cadre frenzy could be his biggest undoing. Politics is more like Test cricket; playing it the T20 way could be counter-productive.