There was a time when the Pakistani Army used to struggle with domestic politicians in order to maintain its hold over the territory. For this purpose, they even took the help of Americans. Well, the Frankenstein’s monster which is known as foreign intervention that they helped to raise has now come back to bite them. And this time it’s China.
Imran Khan wins Punjab elections
Just like Imran Khan came back from his retirement to win 1992 world cup, the former cricketer is now making a comeback in the domestic politics. His party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) just came back to power in Punjab province of Pakistan. Until April, the region was being ruled by Imran Khan’s party, however after Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar’s resignation, the new nominee could not pass the no-confidence motion.
Imran Khan’s own colleague went on to vote against his party. Then Imran Khan petitioned Election commission to remove these lawmakers as they had gone against the party line. As a result, 20 seats had gone vacant for which by elections were held. PTI used all its might and it came out victorious, winning 15 out of 20 seats were up for grabs. Now, PTI is in a position to install its own position in the party. Imran Khan has started to believe that the victory in most prosperous region (Punjab) of the terrorist nation will give him leverage in national elections. Warning that not holding national elections in the near future will lead to chaos, Imran Khan tweeted, “The only way forward from here is to hold free and transparent elections. Any other way will only lead to increased political uncertainty and further economic chaos.”
China looks to welcome early elections
Meanwhile, indications are there that elections which are scheduled to be held by the end of next year may be preponed. Imran Khan’s call for early elections has got unexpected endorsement from a key member of Shehbaz Sharif’s party. Rana Sanaullah, a key member of the (PML-N) and Pakistan’s Interior Minister said that final decision will be made after deliberations with all parties which are supposed to participate in the elections.
On the other hand, China has also decided to overtly jumped into the power struggle in Pakistan. Imran Khan is not the only person who is extremely happy with his party’s victory in Punjab. His victory was welcomed by Chinese state media as well. Shen Shiwei, a influencer policy expert in the Chinese Communist party tweeted in favour of Imran Khan.
When former Pakistani PM Imran Khan was young pic.twitter.com/K7BKrZjIct
— Shen Shiwei 沈诗伟 (@shen_shiwei) July 18, 2022
Battleground for America and China
Pakistan has become the nucleus of China-USA conflict in South Asia. After Donald Trump tightened American noose on funding being availed to Pakistan, China jumped in. By taking Pakistan on its side, it had set its eyes on multiple goals. For one, China still believes that Pakistan can act as good buffer against India. Secondly, the United States is lacking an ally in the Asian continent and China wants to totally alienate the USA in the region.
During Imran Khan’s days, China got ample support from the Pakistani establishment for its CPEC project. However, it was only a matter of time before things went haywire. Baloch fighters came in open defiance of Chinese projects and started to bombard Chinese establishments in the project. Various Chinese nationals were killed and Chinese companies involved in the project started to suffer loss. Simultaneously, due to Imran Khan’s anti-America and pro-China stance, Pakistani Army also pulled its hands away from him. Later, conflict with army became key reason for Imran Khan’s downfall. A part of the credit has been attributed to America as well.
USA has increased its presence in Pakistan
From last few months, USA has been investing in Pakistan and has become main source of its FDI. Thanks to America, Pakistan’s will soon be out of grey list of FATF. It has also helped Pakistan to avail loans from multinational economic institutions. All these developments came after Imran Khan was ousted from the government.
Meanwhile, Baloch Liberation Army’s power has only increased in last few months. Recently, they killed a Pakistani Army officer after holding him in captivity. No wonder, China is terrified and wants to install its own security apparatus in Pakistani territory. But, until US supported government is there, it is not possible.
Imran Khan is the gateway drug for China in Pakistan and same is the case with Shehbaz Sharif, but for America.
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