The hat trick of Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) public rallies in Pakistan has proved one level past doubt that the Pakistan Army has been introduced into the area of grassroot public debate as by no means earlier than.

Three instances prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, now dwelling in exile in the UK, accused the Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Bajwa and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director-General Faiz Hameed of engineering the ascent to energy of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of Imran Khan.

He has thus not solely uncovered the uncanny function of the army institution in operating the affairs of the government by publically unmasked the creepy character of the army establishment which in keeping with Nawaz Sharif has developed right into a ‘state above the state’.

Each one of the audio system at the PDM rallies has endorsed the speech of Nawaz Sharif which, regardless of efforts by the present authorities to sabotage it by switching off the web, have been broadcast reside at the Gujranwala and Quetta rallies on October 16 and 25 respectively. The hundreds who got here to take heed to their leaders didn’t purchase accusations by the spin-medical doctors of the PTI authorities that PDM was following an anti-Pakistan, pro-India agenda.

Imran Khan has misplaced his credibility as a ruler. And rightly so. His election promise that he’ll restore the dignity of the Pakistani folks by not borrowing cash from international nations or banks was thwarted on the very subsequent day of his election victory (July 26, 2018) when his handpicked finance minister Assad Omer informed the media that they need to go to the IMF for an emergency mortgage. Since then Imran Khan has been globetrotting asking for monetary assist. In the first yr of his governance, Imran Khan authorities had gathered a complete of Rs. 7,509 billion of public debt.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the whole public debt at the finish of the fiscal yr June 2019 stood at Rs 31.786 trillion! Assad Omer warned that the nation was close to chapter. In November 2019 the State Bank of Pakistan shocked the nation by revealing that in the 13 months of Imran Khan’s authorities the whole debt of Pakistan of 71 years was up by 35 per cent including Rs 10,000 billion to debt in the identical interval.

The mismanagement of the financial system led to a skyrocketing value hike of nearly each merchandise of each day necessity. However, it was the 262 per cent leap in the value of 100 native and imported medicines that shocked the nation. These medicines included these used for hypertension, glaucoma, and epilepsy, to deal with seizures throughout being pregnant, most cancers, and rabies. The value of greens and meat additionally noticed a rise of 20 to 50 per cent on a weekly foundation.

Exports have been in steep decline as properly in Pakistan and it was reported in January 2020 that nation’s exports had declined by USD 61 million to USD 1.937 billion in comparison with the identical interval in January 2019, therefore, exports, in January 2020, confirmed a unfavourable progress of 3.4 per cent. But the actual bombshell was dropped when it was introduced that for the first time in 68 years Pakistan’s Gross National Product (GDP) had slipped into unfavourable progress of 0.38 per cent and the industrial sector confirmed a unfavourable progress of 2.27 per cent in 2018-19

Added to the above misfortunes have been the sugar and flour scandals that exposed billions of rupees of corruption by those that have been shut associates of Imran Khan. The political witch hunt of the opposition events and curb on print and broadcast media by the Imran Khan authorities and the prime ministers’ stubbornness in resolving the political impasse have been seen as lack of political genius and appear to have performed an instrumental function in the formation of the eleven social gathering alliance of PDM.

As Pakistan struggled to grapple with the free-fall downward development in the financial system, its failure to galvanise worldwide help towards India after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35-A of the Indian structure, developed into critical diplomatic isolation. Not solely that Pakistan did not name for a UN Human Rights Council session on the Kashmir challenge however the actual fact that the Organisation of Islamic Community (OIC) additionally refused to take up the challenge utterly knocked out the Imran Khan authorities in the ring of worldwide diplomacy.

The cornerstone of Pakistan’s international coverage has been anti-India propaganda and when the world turned the different means and refused to purchase Pakistan’s diplomatic commodity based mostly on hate-mongering towards India, it not solely alienated the nation additional but additionally had a devastating impact on the psychology of the common inhabitants. Hence in all of the PDM rallies, audio system have criticised Imran Khan for being accountable for the so-known as ‘Sakoot-e-Kashmir’ (Fall of Kashmir).

China has grow to be weary of the China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor (CPEC) since no work has been carried out on constructing the CPEC infrastructure since the Imran Khan authorities got here to energy. The Chairman of the CPEC Authority General (R) Asim Saleem Bajwa has been accused of being concerned in billions of {dollars} of corruption and operating at least 99 pizza franchises in the US in the title of his relations. Opposition to CPEC from the locals in Pakistan occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) has been rising and Pakistan’s makes an attempt to merge GB in Pakistan have been met with conclusive opposition from all sections of society.

The election due on November 15 in Gilgit- Baltistan are seen as a tactical measure on behalf of Imran Khan to deliver a PTI authorities in energy in GB, nonetheless, that chance appears farfetched. With the presence of Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in GB who’s operating a marathon election marketing campaign, the chance at greatest appears to be the formation of a coalition authorities.

Protests in PoK towards unhealthy street circumstances, lack of well being services and faculties and towards value hike have grow to be a each day incidence. Insurgency in Baluchistan is gaining momentum with the Baloch freedom fighters gaining expertise in guerrilla warfare techniques and placing the Pakistan military examine posts and convoys on nearly a each day foundation.

Similarly in Sindh, rural and concrete Sindh are quick approaching the identical web page towards the imperial extortion and land seize by Pakistan. The most up-to-date instance being the opposition Pakistan needed to face towards a Presidential decree relating to Pakistan Island Development Authority that may deliver the island of Indian Ocean in the Sindh water territory beneath the federal management. On October 6 the provincial meeting of Sindh handed a decision that unanimously rejected the presidential ordinance.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) has grow to be a pressure that can’t be ignored. It is demanding an enquiry into the atrocities that the Pakistan Army has dedicated throughout the so-known as struggle on terror killing hundreds of native harmless tribal.

In a nutshell, Pakistan is bursting at its seams. The query is can Pakistan survive as a viable nation-state? Well, the reply to this query is determined by many components. Internal components that may resolve the destiny of Pakistan embrace her distancing itself from the two-nation concept that’s the foundation of its most unfavourable India-hate narrative. Besides Pakistan should decisively reform its military and intelligence establishments and bar them from any interference in public area whether or not it’s political, financial or social. All army enterprise considerations should be nationalised after which privatised.

Externally, Pakistan has to fix its methods with India by returning the occupied territories of PoJK and GB. Disengage with sponsoring terrorism and offering secure havens for international terrorists and dismantle its terror infrastructure together with coaching camps and monetary help.

Unless as Maryam Nawaz, the vp of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) slogan ‘Vote ko izzat do” (Respect the vote) is established as a governing precept of democracy in Pakistan, there can be extra chaos which needs to be a trigger of concern for regional peace.

Hence, it will likely be as much as the regional powers, huge or small, to affix fingers in the higher curiosity of international peace and financial stability to assist indigenous freedom actions to assist dismember the synthetic state of Pakistan.

Writer: Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza

Source: The Times of India

BDST: 1344 HRS, OCT 31, 2020
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