While many PTI supporters like to believe that Imran Khan’s fight is for civilian supremacy, this is not the case, says senior journalist Kamran Yousaf.
“All Imran wants is a patch up with the GHQ and the day he gets a call from there, you will see him make a U-turn,” Yousaf said in a podcast on Tuesday.
He added that the followers of the former premier have a reason to believe what they believe. They think that it is a defining moment for Pakistan.
The answer to Pakistan’s current situation is in its long history of civil-military imbalance. The rulers seem to believe that while they are elected for the post, someone else has the control of the state’s affairs, he added.
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But the events of Imran’s ouster are allegedly related to Gen (retd) Bajwa and Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed, so why is COAS Gen Asim Munir being targeted, he asked.
Yousaf referred to the PTI chief’s recent talk with the Voice of America that there is one man behind the attempts for his arrest, and that’s the army chief.
He also pointed to the fact that Imran has begun talking about the alleged “London plan” aimed at the series of actions to eliminate him and the PTI in return for the appointment.
“So far, this plan was spoken of by pro-Imran YouTubers, but it is now the former premier talking about it,” the journalist said.
Why is Imran targeting COAS?
It is for the first time that the leader of a popular party is launching direct verbal attacks on the COAS.
“Why is that?” Yousaf asked. It’s said that when Gen Asim was serving as DG ISI, he provided Imran with proof of his wife’s alleged corruption in collusion with then Punjab CM Usman Buzdar.
Imran got upset about it and spoke with former COAS Bajwa, and what followed was an unceremonious departure of then DG ISI, it is said.
Secondly, the ex-premier used to say that PDM and PML-N want an army chief who would protect their interest.
Attempts for a patch-up
After Imran realised that Asim Munir will indeed take on the role of the next army chief, he began some patch-up attempts.
It is the reason why President Arif Alvi flew to meet the PTI chief, in order to project an impression that the latter wanted to patch-up.
“He then allegedly sent messages via Alvi and others to convey he was willing to reconcile, but it didn’t yield results.”
The growing frustration
Once the ex-PM realised that his efforts for reconciliation weren’t bearing fruit, he started to take a rather aggressive approach against Gen Munir.
On the other hand, the army chief has a clear stance that he won’t be a part of any political process. As per Gen Munir, it is up to the political forces to decide a political matter, such as the elections.
Imran, Yousaf maintained, seems to be under the impression that his tactics of pressuring the GHQ will force them to reach out to him and strike a deal.
“So far, it has been counterproductive. The fact is that those who are close to Imran do not want him to reach a point of no return.”
Not just this but he is also losing the sympathetic element in the establishment due to his approach, he added.
Concluding, the journalist said, “They say that nothing is ever conclusive in politics; things might change tomorrow.”
