New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS) The Pakistani Army, which is becoming extremely insecure where former Prime Minister Imran Khan is concerned, is planning a slew of actions against him and his party, the PTI.
Since his ouster and subsequent arrest, the army has tried deliberating with him on several occasions, but Imran Khan has remained defiant. Even in recent weeks, several meetings have been held between representatives from the army and him, but the outcome has been nil. Further, the army is becoming extremely jittery due to the growing support for Imran Khan from the people of Pakistan.
Officials say that the army may try talking to Imran Khan one more time, and if he remains defiant, they are likely to ban his party. The army may even tell the government to try Imran Khan under charges of treason.
The army is trying to project that Imran Khan is a security risk, and he is capable of divulging secrets relating to the country. He has knowledge about Pakistan’s secret assets as he had served as the Prime Minister. The army is trying to make out a case that Imran Khan is mentally unstable and hence cannot be trusted with national secrets.
During the many discussions that have been held, Imran Khan was even offered a safe passage out of Pakistan. He could settle abroad, and he would be granted political asylum. However, the former Prime Minister has not agreed to any of these offers, and this has been frustrating the army to no end.
The army is also upset that Imran Khan supports the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) and the Afghan Taliban. Under his leadership, ties with the TTP as well as the Afghan Taliban were normal. However, today, the TTP has become one of the biggest headaches for the Pakistan Army. The army has faced huge as well as embarrassing losses at the hands of the TTP.
To make matters worse, ties with the Afghan Taliban have strained, and the Pakistan Army remains engaged in a constant battle with Afghanistan.
Statistics show that with the TTP’s resurgence, terror attacks have gone up nearly 500 per cent. The army blames this on Imran Khan’s PTI government, which had facilitated the return and settlement of TTP militants.
Pakistan watchers say that for the establishment, Imran Khan has become an impossible case to deal with. With talks failing on every occasion and the former prime minister remaining defiant, the army is trying to take drastic measures.
Experts, however, warn that trying Khan for treason or banning his party will not be a solution. Imran Khan enjoys huge support from the public. He is a cricketing icon who has won a cricket World Cup for his country. All these factors are on people’s minds, and hence any major action such as this would anger the people. They would take to the streets in a big way, and this would be hard for the establishment to curtail.
An official said that despite being at odds, the establishment would still go against Imran Khan. They would cite instances such as the resurgence of the PTI and also speak about international pressure. Many within the establishment associate Washington’s anger against Pakistan with Imran Khan. The establishment says that the US was upset with Pakistan since Imran Khan had accused Washington of engineering his removal from the post of Prime Minister. Today, ties between the US and Pakistan have improved remarkably.
He is also blamed for briefly derailing ties with Beijing after he commented that there were some corrupt Chinese involved in the China Economic Corridor Project (CPEC).
Another official added that the establishment has already started to build up a case against Imran Khan. Before taking any major action, the establishment would convey a couple of messages to the people. They would accuse him of reviving the TTP, running foreign policy and also label him as a mentally unstable person capable of leaking national secrets.
–IANS
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