Imran Khan rattles already fragile democracy of Pakistan

Prime Minister Imran Khan has done significant damage to the already fragile democracy in Pakistan by overturning the Constitution for his petty selfish political ambitions.

Valentin Popescu, writing in Policy Research Group POREG said that Khan rattled Pakistan's 'democratic' credentials by staging a 'civilian coup' in a desperate one-up man-ship game after he was reduced to a minority in Parliament just when the combined Opposition tabled a no-confidence motion against his government.

Toeing the line of Khan, the deputy speaker Qasim Khan Suri invalidated the opposition's 'no-confidence' motion on Sunday, April 3, saying that "loyalty to the State is the basic duty of every citizen under Article 5 of the Constitution. By implication and amplification, Suri echoed Imran's charge that the Opposition leaders were traitors.

In what was no more than a clever attempt to cover their tracks, Khan and his ministers invoked the time-tested conspiracy theories and made the 'American Shaitan (devil)' appear as the villain, said Popescu.

However, the gamble did not get them any brownie points though; a Gallup Pakistan Survey (April 3-4) has found 64 per cent of Pakistanis reject the Imran narrative, and see the "foreign involvement" card was to avoid the voting on the no-trust motion.

The Opposition alliance had enough numbers to oust Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government from power; their ranks swelled with a dozen PTI lawmakers crossing over to their side.

Khan also failed to keep his coalition partners in good humour; the result: two allies, one Sindh province-based and the other Balochistan based deserted him and made his defeat on the floor of Parliament a certainty.

As a result, Khan opted for a move--what the Pakistan Supreme Court termed as "unconstitutional" and "unparliamentary"--in order to fail the opposition's plan to form the new government, reported POREG.

While taking the high moral ground and dangling the conspiracy card, Imran Khan has acted opportunistically to save himself, but that has come at the cost of Pakistan's fledgling democracy.

His high-voltage rhetorical flourish did not lead him anywhere what with lies and half-truths peddled as gospel truth and name-calling, he has indulged in. The 'victim' card he displayed ended up denting his image further.

For the military establishment, the current political 'circus' in the country is good news. It suits them to remain a 'mute' spectator in order to generate goodwill among the people, who are clearly fed up with the country's incompetent and corrupt civilian leadership.

( With inputs from ANI )

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