Political Tug-Of-War In Pakistan – OpEd

In the 2018 elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) was termed by opposition political parties as a selected government. In 2022, the same situation is seen where 13 parties made every effort to oust the government of PTI, and eventually, by Vote of No-Confidence, a coalition government under the premiership of Shahbaz Sharif is formed. 

The current political situation can be seen as a push and pull, with the three major parties PTI, PML-N and PPP simultaneously addressing large gatherings in different cities to prepare their voters. The scenario of the upcoming election campaign is being prepared which is a sign for the coming elections. 

While review on one side that current politics situation in Pakistan is going to bad to worst and the other hand on security concerns so, Pakistan shares borders with Iran, Afghanistan, China and India and the security situation on its borders is a matter of concern for country security issue. Militant attacks near the Afghan border and separatist activity in Pakistan’s western province of Balochistan have increased significantly in the past few months. May Allah bring prosperity and peace to the country with healthy political competition without personal characterizations.

Elections are not announced officially while PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz said elections will be decided by Nawaz Sharif from London. It is seen recently that PML-N key leadership also visited London on an official trip to discuss the political situation with their leader Nawaz Sharif. Is the current situation heading towards the formation of an interim government? If this happens, it will be good to blow the fire and take the country to a neutral stance through the election via an interim neutral government. At a press conference in Peshawar, Imran Khan said that if early elections were not announced, he would return to the streets.

The key issues that need to be addressed urgently in the current context are political polarization, institutional coherence, efficiency, policy making, national security, peace and serious personal understanding rather than characterization. Peaceful protest is a democratic right of everyone but violent protest is harming our economy which is affecting the common people. 

Moreover, the Pakistan Army is always been a strong pillar for country and time to time releases the statements to keep it away from the current politics. Prayers for this institution’s stability and status as had it always and will be there in the future also. Since his ouster, Imran Khan has staged a series of political rallies and sharply criticized the current coalition government and army, blaming them for his ouster.

Imran Khan warned government to set new elections in six days or he will again march on the capital with millions of people. 

Pakistan’s government on Friday sharply increased fuel prices for consumers, paving the way to revive a $6 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund and stabilize the country’s cratering economy amid deepening political turmoil as the IMF said last week that Pakistan has made considerable progress but it must urgently remove subsidies on fuel and energy.

Pakistan’s political instability has left the country’s economic future uncertain. Growing political polarization and protests by Imran Khan have encumbered governance, especially the hard decisions to fulfill the IMF bailout conditions. Imran Khan has once again praised India as Imran Khan said Pakistan is paying the price for Shehbaz Sharif government not pursuing Imran Khan’s deal with Russia for 30% cheaper oil, while India has managed to reduce fuel prices. 

The previous government, led by Pakistan PTI chairman Imran Khan, plunged the country into serious crisis. As Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Shreif blamed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government for destroying the country’s economy, saying that the last PTI regime accepted the tough conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which he said made the lives of the masses miserable.

While current government accuses Imran Khan of ruining the economy during his three and a half years in power. But Imran Khan still diverting attention from economic issues by using the test and trial anti-West slogan. 

Tofeeque Ahmed is a freelancer and media activist, writes on political developments and security issues with special focus regional affairs.