POLITICAL UPHEAVEL IN PAKISTAN

Imran Khan Was De-notified As The PM Of Pakistan

     Pakistan was plunged into a constitutional crisis on Sunday after the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Qasim Suri, dismissed the opposition's no-confidence motion before it could be taken up, setting in motion a chain of events that included the dissolution of the House and provincial assemblies by President Arif Alvi on the recommendation of Prime Minister Imran Khan, and an announcement by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial that all their actions would be subject to the orders of the court. Imran Khan was de-notified as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, in wake of the dissolution of the National Assembly by the President. However, under Article 224 of the Constitution of Pakistan, he can continue as the Prime Minister for 15 days till the appointment of a caretaker Prime Minister under Article 224 A of the Pakistan Constitution. He will not be empowered to make decisions that an elected head of the government can make.

     Since coming to power in 2018, Khan's rhetoric has become more anti-American and he has expressed a desire to move closer to China and, recently, Russia - including talks with President Vladimir Putin on the day the invasion of Ukraine began. At the same time, U.S. and Asian foreign policy experts said that Pakistan's powerful military has traditionally controlled foreign and defence policy, thereby limiting the impact of political instability.

    Pakistan, which was created in 1947 out of India after the fateful post-Independence partition, saw the change of powers more often than any other so-called democracy.

 The jinx or ill-fate of our neighbours began just four years after its advent with the assassination of the first-ever elected PM of the country. Then the continuous power hustle between The Muslim League and other leaders led to the change of four prime ministers in just the span of 6 years from 1951-to 56. In a country of mercurial leaders – both civil and military – Imran Khan is only the latest. They all arrive either in a blaze of popularity or under the cloak of a coup and then leave disgruntled, disgraced or deposed.

    To no one’s great surprise, Pakistan is blaming everyone except itself for its dire straits. And for a change, there’s no urgent dash to Saudi Arabia to salvage the situation, if not to seek salvation. Imran Khan’s foreign minister did make a trip to China, but it was for a diplomatic mission relating to Afghanistan, and outside of agreeing to roll over some debt, Beijing steered clear of any interference in Pakistan’s domestic affairs. Biraders Turkey and Malaysia too looked the other way. The eternal villain in Pakistani eyes, despite feeding off the crumbs Washington sweeps off the table! A supervillain even more malefic that India! As the latest drama in Pakistan’s domestic politics comes to a juddering close, Uncle Sam aka the US is being blamed for the imminent ouster of “Imran Khan.” Why? Because it is unhappy with Khan refusing to support the US-NATO stand against Russia, on top of visiting Moscow on the eve of its invasion of Ukraine.  US has ignored the reports with the contempt it deserves. In any case, Washington has so much else on its plate.

    The sad truth is no one really gives a squat about Pakistan — not Washington, not New Delhi, and not even the Muslim “ummah.” Only China has some use for it as a tool to tie down India. And but for (or perhaps because of) its nuclear arsenal, it is, to paraphrase the late Madeleine Albright, an “international migraine.” Beyond that, Pakistan has worked itself into irrelevance with its toxic mix of politics and religion, a cocktail India would do well to avoid.

    The good thing about migraines is they eventually go away. The bad thing is they come back. It seems as if the ultimate resolution of this political showdown does lie in an election. Until then, Pakistan seems set for a prolonged period of political uncertainty.