A wrong move by Imran Khan
New Delhi certainly won’t be keen on any prolongation of the political crisis in Pakistan
For a person who came to power after campaigning for years on an anticorruption and pro-governance platform, Pakistan Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has dealt a body blow to constitutionalism and the rule of law. Faced with a no-confidence motion that would certainly have resulted in his ouster, Mr Khan didn’t deliver on his promise to play till the last ball like a true sportsman. Instead, much like the player who picks up the wickets and runs off the field, he displayed utter contempt for Parliament by getting his law minister to oppose the no-confidence motion brought by the combined Opposition on the ground that it violated a constitutional provision requiring all citizens to be loyal to the State. The reason cited for this was a so-called “foreign conspiracy” based on a purported diplomatic cable sent by a former Pakistani envoy to the United States (US). The deputy speaker, who is from Mr Khan’s party, accepted the law minister’s argument and dismissed the trust vote motion.
Since then, the national assembly has been dissolved, Mr Khan has called for fresh elections and nominated former chief justice Gulzar Ahmed as caretaker PM. The entire episode reeks of impropriety and only served to further weaken the standing of Parliament and the Constitution, which had been somewhat strengthened after decades of being systematically hollowed out from the inside by a string of military rulers. Pakistani experts and commentators have likened Mr Khan’s actions to a “civilian coup” and the ease with which the PM’s aides have described them as a masterstroke is bewildering. No right-thinking person, and especially anyone interested in the strengthening of democracy in South Asia, will endorse Mr Khan’s actions. If there truly is evidence of an international conspiracy, Mr Khan should make it public.
For now, his repeated claims in this regard appear only to be appeals to his diehard supporters to keep backing him no matter what. Pakistan’s Supreme Court will now play a crucial role in finding a way out of this unnecessary constitutional crisis foisted on the nation by Mr Khan, but the judiciary has been found wanting in such high-profile cases in the past. Like Pakistan’s other neighbours, India certainly won’t be keen on any prolongation of this political crisis.