A state of anarchy
What happened in Wazirabad last week was perhaps a story foretold. The gun attack on Imran Khan has pushed the country deeper into anarchy. The would-be assassin may have been arrested but the motive behind the shooting remains shrouded in mystery. The former prime minister has been quick to blame the top government leaders and a senior ISI official for plotting the attack. He has named names.
It may have been a lone-wolf action but the incident has inflamed an already volatile situation. The attack has weaponised the PTI's ongoing 'long march'. By directly implicating a senior intel official in the alleged plot to 'kill him' the former prime minister has taken the battle to GHQ.
It seems to be a well-calculated move to step up the pressure on the security establishment on the eve of a critical transition in the army high command. Imran Khan's letter to the president calling upon him to act against the "abuse of power and violations of our laws and of the Constitution", and to delineate "clear operational lines" vis-à-vis the ISPR has accentuated the political divide.
Khan has also urged the president to take note of what he describes as "serious wrongdoings", which were weakening Pakistan's security, and to hold the "guilty" to account. Clearly, he was referring to elements within the security establishment.
Khan's appeal to the president for action seemed to have been triggered by last month's unprecedented media briefing by the ISI and ISPR chiefs where the former prime minister was censured for his false foreign conspiracy narrative.
The stand-off between the PTI and the security establishment also worsened after the alleged custodial torture of former federal minister Senator Azam Swati. The elderly senator who was arrested by the FIA last month in a case registered against him over a controversial tweet is now out on bail. He has accused two senior intel officials of being involved in the alleged crime.
Meanwhile, the release of an objectionable video featuring him and his wife has caused public outrage across the political divide. The image of the elderly senator breaking down during a press talk has shaken the country. Nothing could be more sinister than this act of videotaping the private life of an honourable member of parliament and releasing it. Predictably, fingers have been pointed at the security establishment.
Imran Khan's insistence on nominating the intel official, along with the prime minister and interior minister, as a suspect in what he describes as a plot to kill him has intensified his confrontation with the security establishment. Unsurprisingly, the allegation drew a scathing rebuttal from the ISPR.
In a statement, the military rejected the accusation as "baseless and irresponsible" and warned that allegations against the senior army officer and the institution are "absolutely unacceptable and uncalled for". The military has also urged the government to take action against the former prime minister for maligning the security institution.
Such scathing public exchanges are rare. They clearly show the growing hostility between the former prime minister and his erstwhile patrons. His aggression against the military leadership denotes no breakthrough in 'back-channel talks' with the generals. Apparently, the demands presented by Khan were believed to be unacceptable to the establishment. His rising populist support seems to have added to Khan's hubris.
Moreover, though in opposition, the PTI has control of two of the most important provinces besides being in power in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Having a government in Punjab has particularly given the party huge political leverage, making it much harder for the establishment to deal with the challenge posed by the PTI.