Politicians or any other public representatives enjoy greater freedom of speech and expression. This is done to give them greater space so as to voice concerns of the citizens without being cowed down for those ideas. But there are many red lines in politics and freedom of speech.
If they are breached, it may have catastrophic consequences for any nation. To understand the importance of these red lines, take the example of Pakistan. An ugly war of POWER is in full swing. Every side is ready to breach the red lines that have brought the nation to the verge of a civil war.
Did the Pakistani establishment create a Frankenstein monster?
Pakistan came into existence because of a horrific partition under the evil plan of the divisive colonial power. But since its formation, Pakistan has been nothing more than a banana republic. For a large part of its independence, it has been wrecked under the army boot, that is, oppressive military dictatorship. Even the so-called civilian governments in Pakistan are nothing but a second fiddle to the establishment (Pakistani army+ ISI, and other powerful elites).
Whenever any politician has refused to play along with the deep state of Pakistan or establishment, they have either suffered the drastic fate of Benazir Bhutto or have been jailed or exiled.
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At a time when Pakistan was going through an economic and social downturn, the Pakistani establishment tried to project Imran Khan Niazi as the new messiah for the wrecked nation. The establishment even “helped” him become the PM of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It was an open secret that Niazi was the selected PM, hand-picked by the Pakistani army. It was one of the main political jibes for his opponents.
But an ugly cycle of power ensued, and Imran’s political ambitions started to irk the Pakistani army. At that time, Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa showed him a mirror. He had to remove Imran Khan’s loyal serf, Lt. General Faiz Hameed, as the Director of notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The fight kept escalating, which culminated in Imran Niazi’s ouster from the office. Notably, no PM in Pakistan’s history has completed his tenure in the PMO.
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From friends to foes
Post his ouster, Imran Khan has become the thorn in the eye of the establishment. He has been taking direct shots at the Army and the Shawaz Sharif government. He has been successful in peddling an anti-US narrative amongst his voters and has rallied them behind the idea of DECOLONISATION or not selling sovereignty to the US.
He accused both the Army and the Sharif government of compromising their sovereignty and conspiring with the US to oust him. His supporters have been attacking their opponents viciously, even dubbing them traitors, cowards, sell-outs, rats, and whatnot.
With every action or statement by the Army or Sharif government, Imran Khan’s support base was getting stronger and stronger. Fearing the loud clamour of political support behind Imran Khan, the establishment tried to finish him politically.
Also Read: Pakistani Army stole whatever little money Pakistan had in its treasury.
In October, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified Imran Khan for alleged corruption in the Toshakhana case. Notably, all the gifts received by any government are kept at a special location that is called Toshakhana. It is alleged that Imran Khan bought costly watches from the Toshakhana at throwaway prices and committed other irregularities.
Arshad Sharif murder: A new arsenal for Imran Khan against the Army, and ISI is forced to come out
Rather than stepping back, Imran Khan escalated his attacks on the Sharif government and didn’t spare the Army. Meanwhile, in Kenya, a popular Pakistani journalist, Arshad Sharif, was shot dead. Reportedly, Arshad Sharif was a staunch supporter of Imran Khan and had been uploading investigative pieces on the alleged corruption of Shawaz Sharif and the Pakistan Army.
The popular ARY TV journalist, Arshad, was being hounded out for exposing the dirty deeds of the Pakistani establishment. He was forced to go into exile as the Pakistani government had booked him under several FIRs. In Pakistan, he was constantly receiving life threats.
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As per media reports, he was investigating the corruption of politicians and the Army in Pakistan. Reportedly, he was in talks with OTT giants for his documentary, Behind Closed Doors. Apparently, the documentary was on corruption, interference by ISI and the Army in politics, and other dark deeds. Imran Khan used it to gain moral superiority over his rivals. He alleged that Arshad Sharif was a victim of targeted killing.
It created so much clamour in Imran’s support that the Director Generals of ISI and ISPR had to hold a press conference for the first time in Pakistan’s history. With every word, the ISI Chief tied his notorious organisation in knots and ironically played just like Imran Khan Niazi would have wanted. Although ISI rejected every claim of Imran Khan, the screwed politician Imran Khan dubbed the first-ever ISI presser as a perfect example of political interference to rally his supporters.
Going for the kill, he asked all his supporters to come and join the long march to the capital. However, the tragic death of a journalist halted the long march for a brief period. The long march is pressing hard against the government and establishment to call snap elections in the country.
Shocked & deeply saddened by the terrible accident that led to the death of Channel 5 reporter Sadaf Naeem during our March today. I have no words to express my sorrow. My prayers & condolences go to the family at this tragic time. We have cancelled our March for today.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 30, 2022
Additionally, Imran Khan has been pressuring the Sharif government to remove Army Chief Bajwa. As per latest media reports, Pakistan’s PM declined former PM Imran Khan’s proposal on the appointment of a new Army Chief. However, he has stated that he is ready to discuss the Charter of Democracy and the Charter of Economy with PTI Chief Imran Khan Niazi. This acceptance to bend to Imran’s wishes highlights his increasing clout and fear among the establishment.
Since his ouster in April, former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has held more than 55 rallies. Each time he is increasing his attack and dirt against the army. He has taken on the establishment with a vengeance that has never been seen before in the history of Pakistan.
Imran Khan is getting large support purely for making anti-army noises. The army has neither been able to contain nor go along with this. He has become a thorn in the eye of the Pakistani establishment. Going by Pakistan’s standard, everything is possible in the nation where the army has a dark history of political assassinations, prominently involving Benazir Bhutto.
Going on from here, if Imran Khan is assassinated at the behest of the army’s orders or jailed or exiled, the wrecked nation will be engulfed by large scale violence and civil war. Evidently, Imran Khan has been making despicable and desperate calls to his voters to do ANYTHING to save his political fortune, including use violence.
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