Is PTI Treading A Dangerous Path? – OpEd
The continuous peddling of false propaganda by a group of PTI leaders against the state institutions and the Army’s leadership has caused havoc in the country. It all happened when IK and the company were removed from power through a constitutional process of No Confidence Motion. Losing power hit Imran Khan so hard that he decided to go to any extent for assuming the PM office again. He set a group of PTI leaders on a dangerous discourse so that they could trouble the status quo and become a hurdle for incumbent government to run day-to-day affairs. It appears now that everything that satisfies their malicious aims and brings them closer to the power center is part of their strategy.
Imran Khan who influences people to call him “Sadiq ur Amin” (truthful & honest) is known in reality by the names U-turn Khan, Tosha Khan, and Fitna Khan because of his perfidious nature. IK failed to deliver anything productive in terms of governance and economic security during his tenure of over 3.5 years. His government solely resided on the populist image he had – being a former cricketer. Imran Khan along with other leaders of PTI since their ousting have been involved in smear campaigns against the Armed Forces. The main reason behind it is to defame the only credible institution of the country only to get self-projection.
Whatever may be the strategy of PTI one thing is sure it is not in favor of the country. The ousted party tried to project the narrative that anything anti-PTI or anti-IK should not be accepted by anyone despite any proof or evidence. In a recent episode Shehbaz Gill, the Chief of Staff for Imran Khan in PTI on national television openly gave a call for mutiny that is not only condemnable but also punishable under the constitutional provisions of Pakistan. Before that other PTI leaders also ran false propaganda against the Armed Forces to create a divide between Army and the people with silent backing from Imran Khan. Shehbaz Gill speaking on national television said; “Those people who claim that we are bound to comply with orders need to realize this. You are conscious and you have the ability to distinguish between right and wrong,” he said while talking on the News channel.
“You are Ummati as well as a citizen of Quaid’s Pakistan. You are neither deaf nor blind nor an animal,” he said and made a controversial statement urging rank and file of the Armed Forces to bypass the orders. “You should say that this order is against my own army because it would weaken my own institution. You should tell them that this order will not strengthen the army unless it is backed by my nation”. “You should say that your order is in conflict with the will of the majority of people. You should tell them that this will create discord between army and people”. The statement was in response to the Army’s leadership stance of remaining apolitical. “You should not blindly follow such orders. We know that when a person is on the job, he is bound to follow orders but you have to see whether or not this order is in accordance with patriotism. You have to see whether or not you committed treason.”
“By following these orders, you are compromising the defense of country. Defense of a country is not simply confronting an enemy on the border; rather, it is an era of 5th generation warfare,” said Imran Khan, close aide and secretary. In short, PTI wants everything on its own terms. Its leaders are desperate for power – so much that they no longer want to abide by the laws of the state. Mostly, the party leadership comprises individuals with dual nationalities and therefore they are not worried about the current economic turmoil or looming threats to the state. Self-projection and self-interest drives the strategy of PTI and it will be recorded in history that at a time when Pakistan was in desperate need of national integration, PTI despite being a national political party was increasing fissures and division among the people of Pakistan merely to mint political mileage.
Humais Sheikh is an independent Defence Analyst based in Islamabad. He has completed his Masters in Defence and Strategic Studies from Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad.
