Imran Khan’s possible disqualification from Pakistani politics will be the end of his party
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After the Election Commission of Pakistan’s verdict that Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party had received foreign funding, the current 11-party Shehbaz Sharif government has moved the poll body to seek its arch-rival Khan’s disqualification from politics.
The PTI, as expected, has challenged the damning verdict before the Islamabad High Court.
In yet another development, the ECP has issued a contempt notice to Imran Khan and some other senior PTI leaders for using contemptuous language against the commission. They are required to appear before the ECP on August 30 to explain their position.
The government has also registered a case against Khan on terrorism charges and relevant authorities are seriously considering arresting the PTI chairman.
These matters will take some time to decide, and till then, mudslinging from both sides will carry on. In other words, the political temperature will stay at boiling point.
The arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan’s chief of staff Shehbaz Gill and the alleged maltreatment meted out to him is yet another factor that has added toxicity to the politics.
It’s a state of war in Pakistani politics these days and both the government and opposition are in a ‘kill or get killed’ mode. It’s not the right approach as mutual tolerance is an indispensable component of their jobs.
In the prevailing situation, the win or defeat of either side will have a serious impact on the country.
One possibility is that Khan is ultimately disqualified as a member of parliament and his party – PTI – is banned. Such a development will further divide an already disunited society.
The younger generation, who are the most enthusiastic fans of the cricketer-turned-politician, will not tolerate the ouster of their leader from the political arena. They will be ready to offer any sacrifice for the sake of Khan who, they say, is the last ray of hope for the country.
It’s a state of war in Pakistani politics these days and both the government and opposition are in a ‘kill or get killed’ mode. It’s not the right approach as mutual tolerance is an indispensable component of their jobs.
Ashraf Mumtaz
Khan’s disqualification, which cannot be ruled out as he has antagonized almost all state institutions, will deal a serious blow to the PTI as, unlike the PML-N and PPP which have become family fiefdoms, there is nobody in the PTI who can in the absence of Khan lead the party and maintain its popularity at the national level.
The win of a PTI candidate in a by-election on a Karachi National Assembly seat on Sunday (Aug 21), a stronghold of the PPP and MQM, has established that the PTI is growing in popularity and poses a serious challenge to other parties in the field.
But except for Khan, all other PTI leaders have limited orbits of influence. Leaders like Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Omer, Asad Qaiser and Pervaiz Khattak have influence only in their respective constituencies and are not capable of leading the party. Therefore, with Khan absent from the scene because of a disqualification or for any other reason, the party will first come down to the level of other smaller parties and then eventually evaporate.
This situation will provide the PML-N and PPP an open field and they will get the chance to alternate each other in power once more. For PTI supporters, it will be dream shattering.
Some observers are of the view that if Khan is disqualified, there will be no other party capable of challenging the PML-N and PPP and they will be free to take arbitrary decisions.
At present, the Shehbaz government is facing a strange political situation.
It is superfluous to point out that it is surviving only because of the support being extended by Pakistan’s powerful military.
Political observers are of the opinion that the political parties in the government and opposition have done a great disservice to themselves by failing to hold talks to discuss the country’s major problems and to work out a strategy to solve them. This failure has provided the military with a justification to sideline elected representatives due to their lack of performance in their official roles.
It is a coincidence that this situation prevails at a time when the incumbent army chief is due to serve out his extended term on November 29. The massive protests being staged by the PTI in various cities and the way the army is sheltering the present set-up have enhanced the importance of Pakistan’s top soldier. However, the government is stuck between a rock and a hard place: It will be a very difficult decision, both to mete out further extensions to the incumbent chief or to nominate his successor.
- The writer is a senior and veteran journalist with a career spanning 40 years with major national and international newspapers.