One of Imran Khan’s Instagram posts from last month was a Sun Tzu quote: “An evil man will burn his own nation to the ground to rule over the ashes.” In retrospect, it sounds like a note-to-self from the former prime minister of Pakistan. Last week’s display of Imran Khan’s followers burning down the laboratory that once gave birth to their beloved leader speaks volumes. Talk to the supporters and they will convince you of how they’ve brought about a never-before-seen revolution in Pakistan. Look around for yourself and all you see is a country in ashes.
The highly anticipated arrest of Imran Khan in a corruption case revealed his involvement in accepting a 458-kanal land bribe from business magnate Malik Riaz. It was a quid pro quo arrangement where Khan, as prime minister, returned Riaz’s ill-gotten £190 million, which the government of Pakistan had received as a settlement from the United Kingdom. Now, for a leader who has built his image on an anti-corruption agenda and labelled every opponent a thief (chor), it is ironic that his followers chose to destroy the country over a corruption scandal worth £190 million. Even irony couldn’t withstand such hypocrisy.
So far, in the nationwide violence, the PTI workers have targeted state-owned and public premises. The Radio Pakistan building, metro buses and terminals, hospitals, schools, ambulances, motorcycles, cars, containers, tankers, and even an Audi showroom have fallen victim to their rampage. As a result, educational institutions remain closed, and O’ level exams have been cancelled across the country.
Parading khaki pants
The most significant attacks by PTI rioters have been on army-held installations. The General Headquarters in Rawalpindi (which was last attacked by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorists in 2009), the Corps Commander’s house in Lahore, Pakistan Air Force base in Mianwali, Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, Army welfare trust office, checkpoints, and CSDs in various cities have all been targetted. They even burnt the monument of MM Alam’s fighter jet from the India-Pakistan 1965 war. The statue of Kargil war soldier Karnal Sher Khan was destroyed along with the memorials of 1965 and 1971 war veterans in chowks. These scenes are unthinkable and alien to the Pakistan of today or yesterday.
The ransacking of the corps commander’s house is reminiscent of the parallel universe of the Taliban capturing Kabul’s presidential palace. Imran Khan’s nephew, Hassan Niazi, proudly displayed the corps commander’s khaki pants to the mob, stating, “General sahib’s waist is 50 inches.” Another protester wearing commander’s uniform shirt claimed that the faujis took off their pants and surrendered to India in 1971 and were now surrendering to PTI. Meanwhile, some vandals even stole women’s lingerie, considering it a scathing evidence of a lavish lifestyle.
In search of an Erdogan, all they found was a PTI uncle stealing mutton korma and Coca-Cola from the kitchen of the Corps Commander, Lahore. It’s a testament to the fact that no revolution can succeed on an empty stomach. Is this the Sri Lanka moment that Imran Khan wanted in Pakistan?
Those who looted peacocks, teetar, strawberries, falsas, bhindi, potato, green chilies, and tomato ketchup from the kitchen felt as if they were reliving their 1947 azadi (independence) moment. It’s unclear whether it was the loot or the act of setting the house and mosques on fire that evoked the vibe of 1947. Ironically, the corps commander’s residence is a property of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, which he purchased in 1943. The angry PTI protester refers to it as the zina (adultery) house instead of Jinnah House, based on the opulent life he witnessed inside. The last time a Jinnah house was destroyed was when the Balochistan Liberation Army set the Ziarat residency ablaze in Quetta through rocket attacks and planted bombs.
Harvesting 10-year produce
The violence is not new for Imran Khan’s PTI. Since 2014, PTI has been involved in several incidents where its leadership encouraged and its workers actively engaged in violence as a means to an end. However, that end has never been achieved. In 2014, during the sit-in in Islamabad, leaked phone calls revealed Imran Khan and Arif Alvi planning and executing attack on Pakistan Television while attempting to force Nawaz Sharif to resign as prime minister. With military support, PTI spearheaded attacks on parliament and the police during that phase. Now, after ten years, they have a militant arm trained to create chaos.
If the far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik leader Saad Rizvi is arrested and his workers come out to protest, the Supreme Court of Pakistan should intervene just as efficiently to release him. Why should one mob be appeased while the other is not? After all, both TLP and PTI are half-siblings from the same surrogate. One was proscribed briefly, and PTI is trying hard to add that to its résumé.
Now, the Pakistani military establishment harvests its produce in the form of Imran Khan and the judges. Both colluded to topple prime ministers and destabilise civilian governments in the post-Pervez Musharraf era, but now they find themselves on opposite sides. Despite the army’s stern statement after the attacks, calling PTI “a group wearing a political cloak [that] has done what enemies could not do in 75 years, all in the lust for power,” the Chief Justice of Pakistan was rather welcoming. He summoned Imran Khan to his court in a Mercedes, greeted him with warm words, and even issued a release order. The CJP declared Khan as “guest of the Supreme Court” and arranged a sleepover for ten or more friends in police lines guesthouse. Unprecedented indeed.
The court prevented authorities from arresting their favourite prisoner in any case against him, including undisclosed cases filed anywhere in the country until 15 May. The only thing left was for the court to prohibit anyone from even dreaming about the arrest of Imran Khan. No political leader has been lucky enough to get such affection.
It’s not me, it’s you chief
After spending the last fourteen months referring to the former army chief General Qamar Bajwa as Mir Sadiq Mir Jaffar, and blaming Bajwa for everything that went wrong while he sat in the prime minister’s chair in the glorious days of “same page”, Imran Khan’s main concern remains why the current army chief, Asim Munir, doesn’t cosy up to him. The question of why there has been no contact since Munir took office has been repeatedly asked and answered. Just a day before Khan’s arrest, PTI leader Asad Umar suggested that Munir and Khan should be locked in a room so they can talk. That’s de-escalation 101. Since that meeting didn’t happen, the new chorus is that the “army chief is responsible for my arrest”.
There has been no ideological shift or course correction from Imran Khan. Nor is he engaged in a noble fight for democracy. He considers himself the embodiment of democracy, inspired by China’s one-party system with a regressive theocratic twist. He had plans for a formal constitutional cover, quota seats in parliament for the establishment. Unlike other political parties that have opposed military interference in government affairs, Khan’s desire is to become godi (lapdog) prime minister once again. While Donald Trump still adamantly claims victory in the 2020 US presidential election, Imran Khan wants us to believe he won the 2018 Pakistan general election fair and square without military support. All he needs is one chief per election, even if it’s just the chief justice.
Until one crore people out of the 23 crore population rise up in a Tahrir Square-like inquilab, Imran Khan’s desire to become prime minister and “not de-notify Asim Munir” as army chief will remain unfulfilled, just like many other aspirations since April 2022.
The author is a freelance journalist from Pakistan. Her Twitter handle is @nailainayat. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)