Pak at the crossroads

PAKISTAN’S Supreme Court has scuttled a desperate attempt by Prime Minister Imran Khan to cling on to power by hook or by crook. On Thursday, the court struck down a contentious ruling by Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri on the rejection of a no-confidence motion against Imran and ordered the restoration of the National Assembly, besides dubbing the ‘advice’ given by the PM to President Arif Alvi to dissolve the Assembly as ‘unconstitutional’. The court has made a timely intervention to control the damage caused by a vicious assault on Pakistan’s democratic and constitutional framework. Imran’s position had become untenable after his government effectively lost majority in the Lower House with the switchover of a couple of coalition partners to the Opposition camp. However, the cricketer-turned-politician dug in his heels, asserting that he would continue to ‘fight for Pakistan till the last ball’. Shockingly, the spirit of sportsmanship and a sense of fair play were conspicuous by their absence on Sunday as Imran, backed by the President and the Deputy Speaker, made a mockery of the parliamentary setup.

Imran’s credibility is at an all-time low; there are few takers for his allegation that a ‘foreign conspiracy’ has been hatched to topple his government. Known as the ‘comeback king’ during his cricketing days, Imran has a mountain to climb to find his way out of the hole he has dug for himself.

Not for the first time in its 75-year history, Pakistan finds itself at the crossroads. The troubled country is set to witness a prolonged phase of political and economic turmoil in the run-up to the General Election, which is due in August 2023 but could be held earlier, depending on how things pan out. There is a clamour for electoral reforms to ensure that the next polls are free and fair. It will be keenly watched how sincerely various political parties will push for these reforms to clean up the mess left by decades of undemocratic practices. Looking at the larger picture, the longer there is instability in Pakistan, the greater will be its impact on the geopolitics of the subcontinent and beyond.

#democracy #imran khan #Pakistan