Reportedly a PTI stalwart Sher Afzal Marwat speaking in a talk show on a private TV channel on Tuesday said that Saudi Arabia and the USA jointly played a role in the conspiracy to orchestrate Imran Khan’s removal from power. He further said that Saudi Arabia was a puppet of US President Joe Biden trying to further the latter’s interests in the region. Citing the reason for the Saudi role in the conspiracy he said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman was probably displeased over the unsavoury remarks made by Imran Khan about him during a cabinet meeting.
What Marwat has said is the most preposterous claim which also exposes the falsehood of ever-changing narratives of the party’s founding chairman concerning his exit from power. To begin with, Imran Khan using the cipher sent by our ambassador in the US built up the narrative that the US administration was the architect of his removal from power in connivance with the PDM government. He kept rubbing in this notion for quite some time and then retracted from it after shifting his target to former COAS General Bajwa. The next additions to the list of conspirators were Hussain Haqqani, the former Pakistani ambassador to the USA, and Mohsin Naqvi the current interior minister. Now the party has come up with a new narrative that the real culprits were the duo of the USA and Saudi Arabia. I am sure Marwat could not have made this claim without the permission and knowledge of Imran Khan. Nobody in his right mind can ever give credence to these self-contradictory narratives which themselves speak about their falsehood.
The undeniable truth is that the removal of Imran Khan from power through a constitutional process by PDM was purely an internal political issue. Imran Khan through his politics of vendetta against leaders of the opposition parties himself created conditions for their getting together and making a move to end his rule. His tirade against the USA sent relations between the two countries into a nosedive and the succeeding government had to make strenuous efforts to get them back on track.
Saudi Arabia is not only a great friend of Pakistan but a benefactor who has helped Pakistan whenever it was faced with economic adversities. The timing of the convulsions made by Marwat is also very significant. They have come at a time when the Saudi Arabian delegation was in Pakistan to finalise arrangements regarding Saudi investment in the country. Seen through this reality the move seems a well-thought-out rhetoric to thwart Saudi investment in Pakistan.
The promised investments in Pakistan by Saudi Arabia and the forthcoming visit of the Iranian President to Pakistan are being perceived as a march towards stability of the country and a milestone in the context of its diplomatic and economic progress. Ostensibly Imran Khan is making such imprudent moves because he probably sees the defeat of his political ambitions in these developments. The negative statement by Marwat against Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman also reflects the unfounded belief of Imran Khan that any kind of stability was contingent upon only his being in power.
Raising questions on the economy of the country and engagement with IMF at this juncture indicates Imran’s dangerous designs that negate the efficacy of steps being taken in the interest of the state and the wellbeing of the people. The question is can he repudiate the agreements made by him with IMF? The reality is that the country is still suffering from the impact of the economic impediments that his government had erected.
Imran Khan in a statement from Adiala prison has also expressed his lack of trust in democracy and the constitution. One may ask him, has the formation of government in KPK and appointment of opposition leader in the national assembly not taken place under the same constitution and democratic process that he so abhors? If it is so then why does he not ask his party to say adieu to the KPK government and the appointments in the national assembly?
Imran also continues to say unsavoury things against Chief of the Army Staff General Asim Munir which is ranting proof of the fact that he has turned politics into personal enmity. The Army chief is not merely an individual but the entire institution of the Army. Can Pakistan afford enmity with its own institutions? Does Imran Khan really know its repercussions for the people and the country? His recent statement and the moves that he has been making to promote anarchy and despondency in the country besides harming the national interests through his actions leave no doubt about the fact that he only wants chaos in the country to achieve his political objectives under its cover.
His antics and latest convulsions also prove that he was feeling extremely frustrated and distressed over the way the country was making positive progress toward stability. He also seems obsessed with the thought of losing his relevance and importance to the future political landscape of the country. These feelings would go on attaining more intensity with the passage of time.
Those who are savvy of the real situation and political dynamics are unanimous in their view that besides being popular one also needs to be positive in one’s thinking and make his political interests subservient to the national interests. Politics is all about that. It was time Imran Khan realized the gravity of the situation and the fact that his anti-Pakistan antics were not only harming his party but also jeopardizing national interests. He needs serious rethinking to realign his political objectives with the interests of the state.
The country needs impregnable unity and collective action to pull it out of the permeating precarious situation. It is obligatory for all the political parties and leaders to think and act for Pakistan and do politics within the parameters of the constitution and internationally recognized norms of democracy. The sooner this feeling sinks into Imran’s mind, the better it will be for him and the country.
Malik Muhammad Ashraf
The writer is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at ashpak10@ gmail.com