AA Edit | Imran drama intensifies

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister and cricket captain Imran Khan has put himself directly on a collision course with the Pakistan Army and it bodes ill for the politician. He was fortunate that the Supreme Court of Pakistan had intervened, with decisive directions to free him from the clutches of the Pakistan Rangers.

Would the top court intervention suffice to keep the Army from acting further against him is not even in the speculative realm as the Army has already filed a case against him that may go to a military court where Imran may not have the protection of the judiciary. It appears Pakistan is in for more mayhem if Imran is indeed arrested again, which many fear will happen soon.

Smarting under what it terms as orders in favour of Imran Khan, the Pakistan Democratic Movement is staging a sit-in outside the Supreme Court even as the National Assembly passed a resolution for a 5-member panel to prepare and file references against top court judges.

With such obvious moves challenging the separation of powers in a so-called democracy, the ruling coalition is taking up tougher positions to spite Imran. The government has asked the police to round up all those who had ruited during protests in the wake of Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9 and subsided only after the top court had ordered his release.  

At every turn since being ousted from power based on a no-confidence vote, clearly triggered by the Army top brass who wanted to get rid of the very person they had nurtured as a political force and helped him vault to the Prime Minister’s seat, Imran has been urging his cadre to hit the streets. However, he refused to accept responsibility for the violence on the grounds that he was in jail where he said he was tortured too.

The crux of the problem is Imran has no choice but to take on the Army as well as the Shehbaz government as plans may be afoot to make him ineligible to contest the general elections that should be held this year.

With things leaning towards an undemocratic solution to a political force who is not beyond cashing in on his popularity to whip up a frenzy, Pakistan, already reeling from an economic crisis, faces uncertain times in grim scenarios.