WHY DOES CHINA PROTECT MASOOD AZHAR?

It’s the same old story as China has once again showed its intent on which side of terror it stands.  Once again, it has torpedoed the United Nations efforts to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad  chief Masood Azhar. It has been proved beyond doubt that China can’t be a trusted ally in the global war against terrorism.  China’s action is in direct contrast to the position it has maintained publicly that it is opposed to any form of terrorism.  The raison d'être behind China’s avid desire to protect Jaish chief is beyond explanation. Is it only to help its staunchest ally Pakistan or something else?

pix courtesy: nation.com.pk

China has pumped in billions of dollars in Pakistan and continues to do so. Its biggest ever infrastructure development plan – China-Pakistan Economic Corridor – itself is worth close to 60 billion dollars. Moreover, over 30,000 Chinese people, including engineers and construction workers, are posted there. China apprehends that its projects could be in jeopardy if it signaled any change in its policy vis-à-vis Masood Azhar. In the past, several Chinese engineers involved in the project have been attacked and abducted, and later released by militants active in the restive Balochistan following intervention by Pakistan. That seems to be the prominent concern of China. In preventing the Pakistan-based terrorist from being declared as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council, China is, in fact, protecting its assets and interests, more than anything else.

pix courtesy: en.dailypakistan.com.pk

China’s opposition to proscribing Azhar is baffling given that Jaish-e-Mohammad has already been blacklisted by the 15-nation Security Council of which China is one of the five permanent members. The Jaish was blacklisted by the UN Security Council in 2001, a year after its formation, following a deadly attack on Indian parliament in December 2001, which had brought India and Pakistan on the verge of a fourth war. Strangely, China considers JeM an outlawed organization, but not its leader? There seems to be serious defect in the original charter of the United Nations which gave special powers to the P-5 countries. There is an urgent need for immediate rectification of this rule. Otherwise, any one permanent nation can keep on foiling adoption of any resolution. The best way is to introduce the rule of the majority within the five permanent members, otherwise, the international community would always be found wanting in arriving at any decision due to contradicting stand by one or other countries.

This is the fourth time that China has blocked a combined bid by the United States, France and the United Kingdom to declare Azhar a global terrorist by putting the proposal on a “technical hold” before eventually terminating it on the grounds that “there is no consensus” in the 1267 Committee of the UN Security Council.  How can there be a consensus if one country (read China) continues with its unprincipled stand on Azhar? In 2017 also, it was the odd nation out in the 15-member Security Council when the P3 nations – the US, UK and France – sought to place Azhar on the 1267 sanctions list that would have entailed his travel ban and freezing of assets. While the proposal had approval of all the other 14 members of the Security Council, it was China which censored it. Needless to say, China is misusing its veto power.

China’s opposition to proscribing Azhar is baffling given that Jaish-e-Mohammad has already been blacklisted by the 15-nation Security Council of which China is one of the five permanent members. China considers JeM an outlawed organization, but not its leader?

The dichotomy between China’s alleged commitment to fight terrorism and its action is quite evident as it is a signatory to the Xiamen Declaration signed in September 2017 at the 9th BRICS summit in the Chinese city of Xiamen. The Xiamen Declaration had called upon the international community to establish a "genuinely broad" international counter-terrorism coalition. Moreover, it was also a party to a decision of the five-member BRICS nations summit in Xiamen which had called for decisive action against militant groups based in Pakistan terming them as a security concern in the region. Some of the groups mentioned in the declaration included Taliban (Islamic State)..., Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. The last two groups have been involved in several deadly attacks against India, including the latest one in Pulwama in which at least 40 paramilitary soldiers were martyred in a suicide attack, and which was claimed by Jaish.

What is China’s compulsion in protecting Azhar, who is, no doubt, a prized asset for Pakistan? Well, if the United Nations declares Azhar a global terrorist, then Pakistan will be compelled to arrest him and seize his assets.  And this is something the Imran Khan government can’t afford to do fearing violence by an army of militants prepared by Azhar. Besides, Azhar has deep influence in the rural pockets of the country through his seminaries. His popularity soared during the devastating earthquake in 2005 when his seminaries provided financial and medical assistance to the affected people while the government agencies were found lacking in evacuation and rehabilitation works. Secondly and most importantly, he enjoys the support of the Pakistani army. Does Imran Khan, who himself has been propped up by the army, have the guts to go after Azhar? Your guess is as good as mine.

China, too, is aware of the predicament of its all-weather ally.  Therefore, it has been repeatedly blocking any attempt to outlaw Azhar even at the expense of its own image. But while doing so, China risks global isolation.

INDIA SERVES IT RIGHT AND TIGHT TO PAKISTAN

India has dished out to Pakistan what it had been asking for years. Pakistan had been testing India’s patience by carrying out dastardly attacks through its band of home-grown terrorists in Kashmir and other parts of the country. But for how long? It had to happen. India needed to give a strong reply to Pakistan to stop it in its tracks. For how long could Pakistan expect India to sit quiet as it went about continuing with its state policy of terror? A loud and clear message has been delivered to Pakistan that India will not hesitate in going inside the Pakistani territory to hunt out terrorists and their camps.

Here are the key takeaways from today’s aerial attacks.

METICULOUS PLANNING: The air attack was well-timed and carefully planned. It is not easy to carry out aerial attacks during the hours of darkness when operations get hampered due to lower visibility. But Indian Air Force chose 3.30 a.m. local time to exploit the advantages to maximum effect when its Mirage 2000 fighter jets dropped bombs on terrorist camps in Pakistan-controlled territory catching the enemy country unawares. In less than 30 minutes, 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets completed the job with precision by eliminating terror camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, which had taken the responsibility for the Pulwama suicide attack in which at least 40 CRPF personnel were martyred. Though exact figures are not readily available, a large number of militants and their leaders and handlers (some reports put the figure between 200 and 300) were killed.

Pix courtesy: YouTube

PAKISTAN CAUGHT NAPPING: Pakistan least expected India to cross the Line of Control and conduct airstrikes inside its territory. Pakistan knew of impending response from India in the wake of the outrage following the Pulwama terror attack. Expecting India to carry out another surgical attack following the Uri attack last year, it had moved away several terror launch pads and training facilities from the line of control dividing Kashmir. But the least it had expected that India will dare to launch air strikes on its soil. This is the first time India has resorted to aerial bombing over the disputed border since the 1971 war. Indian warplanes had not crossed the Line of Control even during the brief Kargil conflict in 1999.

ZERO TOLERANCE TOWARDS TERRORISM: A hard and decisive message has been delivered to Pakistan that India will not hesitate in taking punitive measures if the former continued with its malicious designs. India had earlier indicated a change of its approach when it carried out surgical strikes in Pakistan occupied Kashmir inflicting heavy casualties on terrorists 10 days after the Uri attack in which 18 Indian soldiers were killed. At least 38 terrorists, including their guides and handlers, were killed in that operation. And today’s pre-dawn attack resulted in the elimination of close to 200-300 terrorists. With Pakistan disregarding all calls from India and the world leaders to close terror camps operating from its soil and prevent infiltration of terrorists into Kashmir, such a reply was long overdue.

PREPARED FOR ESCALATION: Today’s aerial attacks also convey Indian leadership’s readiness for an all-out confrontation if Pakistan chooses to escalate the situation. Thus far, New Delhi had been held hostage to Islamabad’s manipulation and threat of use of nuclear weapons if India dared any limited strikes on Pakistan. It resisted the military response, despite the massive outcry back home, for fear of escalation of hostilities. But New Delhi has decided to bite the bullet by extracting revenge on both the occasions. This marks a tectonic shift from India’s earlier stand when it used to share information of terror attacks with Pakistan in the hope that the latter will live up to its promise and take any concrete action against the terrorist groups operating from its soil.

MESSAGE TO WORLD: With the world leaders balking at India’s repeated requests for concerted and timely action against terrorism, New Delhi has decided to walk the talk. Frustrated by failure of the world leaders to address the issue of terrorism and offering only lip service, India has also sent out a strong signal to the global community that enough is enough and it reserves the right to self-defence against cross-border terrorism. India is unlikely to face any resistance given the global community’s strong condemnation of the Pulwama terror attacks and support to New Delhi.  In fact, the US national security advisor John Bolton had gone on to say that Washington supported India's right to 'self-defence' from 'cross-border terrorism'.

PAKISTAN’S OPTIONS: Pakistan does not have too many options right now. Can it afford to go for an all-out war against India? Seems unlikely. If it does, it will be accused of initiating the war as India chose to target only terror camps and not any civilian or military installations. Moreover, leave aside the support of China and a few Islamic countries, Pakistan today finds itself in isolation. The world opinion is heavily tilted in India’s favour. Pakistan has no option but to swallow the humiliation by terming the attacks as fictitious. At best, it can do what it is best at, by sending mercenaries to India to carry out terror attacks.

WHAT DOES IT AUGUR? There is no doubt that India’s military action has upped the ante and the world is concerned about the escalation of hostilities. The Indo-Pakistan relations have taken a severe hit and there does not seem a ray of hope of any betterment in the situation in the very near future. Any miscalculation by either of the two countries can bring them to the brink of a full-fledged war which does not augur well. Both the countries will do well to practice restraint and bide time to give peace another chance. But it is easier said than done.

PAKISTAN DESERVES NO MERCY

pix courtesy: OneIndia

It’s now or never! The terror-happy Pakistan has been repeatedly testing patience of India by orchestrating such heinous massacres. But this time, it has crossed all its limits. It just can’t be allowed to go scot free. February 14, 2019 will go down in the history of India as the worst black day when a Jaish suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy of 70 vehicles in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir killing at least 44 CRPF personnel and injuring several others.  It is high time India realises that it is alone in its fight against terrorism and should expect no support from the world body which has been a silent spectator to the macabre of dance being played in Kashmir and elsewhere in the country for several decades now.

The world has disappointed India every time by looking the other way whenever Pakistan was found complicit in the terror activities perpetrated against the innocent people. Be it the 1993 bombings in Mumbai when 257 people were killed, or the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai when 174 people died, or the Indian Parliament attack, or the 2001 Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly car bombing, or the 2016 Uri attack. And now, the Pulwama incident! The list is endless.  Over the years, thousands of innocent people have fallen prey to acts of terrorism with no fault of theirs. What has been the response of the global community? Other than offering condolences and issuing statements of support for India, the global community has been found wanting in the fight against terrorism.

The then US President George Bush had famously said “Either you are with us or you are with terrorists” when his country came under the worst terror attacks on September 11, 2001 when close to 3,000 people were killed in a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda. Are the lives of US citizens more important than the Indians? Today, India should also ask the same question to the civilized countries where do they stand as far as the war against terrorism is concerned. It should by now be ample clear to India that it has to wage its own battle against terrorism. The so-called global war against terrorism is just a hollow statement and far away from reality. India should take all necessary steps – covert or otherwise – to protect its innocent people and its territorial integrity.

We just can’t afford to live in grief whenever such dastardly act is committed against us. Today there is anger, anger among people, anger among the armed forces. This is an open declaration of hostility by Pakistan. This anger should be directed towards finding a resolute solution to the problem, once and for all. India has taken too long to withdraw the most favoured nation status to Pakistan, which it should have done long ago. While the global community has failed India, New Delhi should work with like-minded countries to ensure that Pakistan is boycotted politically as well as economically. There is an urgent need to isolate Pakistan from the multilateral fora where it is a member. India should use all diplomatic means to ensure that the friendly countries sever their ties with Pakistan.

India has, in the past, made several attempts to buy peace with Pakistan by holding talks with it and its proxy – the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC).  It should be made crystal clear to both Pakistan and the Hurriyat that they don’t deserve talks. The political parties, especially the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) which has soft corner for terrorists, should be shunned completely. There is no room for such parties in a civilized set-up. 

The Hurriyat should be made very clear that it has no role in finding a solution to the Kashmir problem as it does not represent the masses of Kashmir. Moreover, their leaders should be divested of security. They have had enough. If their hearts bleed for Pakistan, they should be told to leave Kashmir immediately and settle down in a country from where they get all the moral and financial support. No civilised nation can allow anybody to carry out anti-national activities from its soil and Hurriyat is no exception. There is difference between dissent and sedition. Hurriyat leaders and all those who subscribe to their ideas are anti-nationals and should be charged with sedition.

Security forces should be given a free hand to smoke out each and every militant from Kashmir. They should first scout the South Kashmir, the hotbed of militancy, which ironically is the constituency of PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti. This is the breeding ground for local militants. Half the battle will be won once South Kashmir is cleared of militants. About one-third of 200-odd local militants and their accomplices are active in this part. In recent years, there has been alarming increase in the number of youths from this region joining militancy.

There is no doubt that India has been put on notice, and it has all the rights to take every resource at its command to protect its people. From now onwards, India should channelize all its resources – diplomatic or otherwise – to defeat the terror network from the country.  This act of terror can’t be left to go unpunished.

IS IT THE END OF ROAD FOR DHONI?

pix courtesy: thehindu.com

In all probability, the 2019 World Cup in England will be the swan song of wicket keeper M.S. Dhoni. His unceremoniously omission from the Indian T20I team for the forthcoming series against West Indies and Australia later this year is an indication that Indian selectors have made up their mind as far as the future of Dhoni is concerned. Tongues have been wagging since Dhoni was not included in the two important series ahead of the World Cup. It is not yet clear whether Dhoni was dropped or rested. Though words have been spread that Dhoni himself wanted the younger players, specially Rishabh Pant, to be groomed into the keeper’s role, the selectors’ studied silence is worth many words. 

There is no doubt that Dhoni has lost his Midas touch as a bang-bang hitter and has been struggling with runs towards the fag end of the innings when the team requires him to step up the attack. On the contrary, several young cricketers like Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya have proved their mettle by going the aerial way neatly in the death overs. Rishabh Pant fits the bill perfectly as he is not only agile as a wicket-keeper, but has proved himself as a batsman who can plunder runs against any attack.

Perhaps Dhoni also realizes that he is not living up to his image as a player who could contribute with bat besides keeping wickets, giving the selectors the options to play with an additional bowler. It is because of this fact that he first recused himself from the Test cricket, solely concentrating on the shorter versions of the game. But sadly, his famed batting prowess has been a big let-down. In the last three years, Dhoni has played 62 matches and accumulated just 1341 runs with one century and 7 fifties. Interestingly, the sole century and the seven fifties came only last year in 2017 when it appeared that he had started regaining his form. But 2018 has been an eventless year as Dhoni made just 275 runs out of 13 innings of the 20 matches that he has played so far.  

There is no doubt that selectors will have to think beyond Dhoni who has already completed 37 years and it is high time that young players are groomed before India’s most successful wicket keeper takes a bow. But the selectors will do well to keep the veteran in the team for the World Cup as his experience itself is something that can’t be discounted. He is just one run away from reaching a historic milestone from reaching 10,000 ODI runs, second only to Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara in the world. As has often been seen, captain Virat Kohli always turns to Dhoni when situation seems run out of control. Dhoni is often seen making small field adjustments while giving directions to bowlers. 

Another reason why Dhoni is an important cog in India’s quest for World Cup is his sharp eye during DRS reviews. He has been almost accurate as far as taking DRS reviews is concerned.

At a time when the team is yet to find a perfect combination with newcomers performing in patches, Dhoni’s presence itself is a matter of comfort in the dressing room. With 14 years of experience, Dhoni knows how to conduct himself in varying situations. Moreover, nobody can doubt his keeping skills as none can match his agility behind the wickets. India just cannot afford to not have Dhoni in the World Cup.

GOVT IN A BIND AFTER CAGING CBI

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The image of India’s premier investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), lies in tatters as the sordid drama involving extortion, bribe and corruption by top ranking officers unfolds. What is so scandalous is that the CBI, which is supposed to probe corruption charges, is itself seeped so deeply in unscrupulous dealings that the credibility of such an organization has become questionable. That the agency has been misused by successive governments as a Special Purpose Vehicle against their political rivals is not something that is a secret. But the rapid erosion of the agency’s image in recent years makes a mockery of its motto which is Industry, Impartiality, Integrity. Given the dubious image that the agency has earned for itself in recent years, its epigram should rather read Inertia, Immortality, Impropriety.

Had it been industrious and not inertial, the agency would not have received flak from the Supreme Court time and again over the shoddy investigations it carried out in various scams and corruption cases.  Had it been impartial in its probes, it would not have lost the confidence of the Supreme Court forcing it to denounce the once-famed elite agency as a “caged parrot” and “its master’s voice”. Had the CBI lived up to its integrity, the political class could not have mustered courage to arm-twist it for its cover-up operations. That the top leadership of the agency has allowed itself to be subjected to political influence shows that some of its officers are a willing party to dirty tricks and corrupt means for personal gains and official lollipops.

Never in the history of CBI has it happened that its chief and the number two were unceremoniously sidelined in a midnight coup and virtually rendered ineffective. The situation was warranted after the top two officers of the CBI were involved in ugly spat, and openly revolted against each other making a spectacle of once respectful and fearful agency. More drama followed as more than a dozen officers supposedly close to both the two top officers were transferred late night by an interim director, who is not even seen above suspicion. No guesses here, under whose orders he carried out mass transfers, that too, in the dead of the night. The murky drama did not end there as the following morning four men from Intelligence Bureau were arrested for allegedly snooping on the CBI boss exiled a few hours ago. What is more to this sordid drama is that there are also names of a senior Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer and a former Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) doing the rounds in the imbroglio. So you have almost all the important security wings of the country, internal as well as external, involved in this spectacle endangering the national interests.

Was it only the turf war between the CBI chief Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana, a Gujarat cadre officer, who was brought into the agency as a special director? There is something more than the personal ego battle between the two officers. While Alok Verma is seen as the protégé of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Rakesh Asthana was handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Interestingly, Asthana was appointed as the special director of the CBI in October 2017, two months after an FIR was filed against him in a 3.8 crore rupee bribery case relating to Sterling Biotech. Is it not bizarre that an officer, whose name figures in the investigation in the Sterling Biotech case, is promoted to CBI? Alok Verma had opposed Asthana’s appointment as special director citing his alleged connection with the Sterling Biotech bribery case. But his objection was overruled. Did Verma not do the right thing by red flagging Asthana’s appointment? But could he go beyond a point if the government of the day refused to see anything wrong in Asthana’s case? Asthana backers, however, claim that he has not been named in the FIRs filed by either the Enforcement Directorate or the Central Bureau of Investigation though the diaries seized during the Sterling investigations had notings with initials “RA”.  A benefit of doubt for Asthana!

Why Asthana was the blue-eyed boy of the government or the Prime Minister Office in particular that all objections against him were swept under the carpet? Asthana, who is credited to have overseen several high profile cases like coal scam, AugustaWestland scam, black money and money laundering cases, has seen meteoric rise since he was moved to Gujarat at the height of the Godhra riots. It all began with his appointment as Inspector General of Vadodara and his territorial jurisdiction included Godhra. His appointment had raised several eyebrows then because there were many senior officers other than him who were bypassed for the post. His handling of the Godhra probe had brought him closer to the state establishment. That he would land a plum posting in the CBI if Narendra Modi became the prime minister was a foregone conclusion.

Over the years, India’s premier agency is being systematically deprecated by successive governments for fixing political opponents and tampering with investigation in several criminal as well as corruption cases. If the CBI finds today in profound mess, the governments at the Centre are to be blamed. Sadly, the image of the agency has been mauled beyond repairs that it is often referred to as the dirty tricks department of the government of the day. This does not augur well for India.

M.J.AKBAR SHOULD BE SACKED IMMEDIATELY

As stories about misconduct of flamboyant former editor and now minister of state for external affairs M.J. Akbar unfold with every passing day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not waste a minute in sacking him. The charges against Akbar are of very serious nature and demand his immediate expulsion from the cabinet. Stripping him (from power) will not only assuage those who have been subjected to humiliation at his hands, but will also embolden others to expose several other Akbars who continue to abuse their power. In order to make India clean, people with such abnormal and unacceptable behavior should be purged immediately.

courtesy: vocfm.co.za

What is baffling the most that he has been allowed to continue even though severe charges have been leveled against him? How can a pleasure-seeking person be allowed to attend an event on Mahatma Gandhi in Lagos, Nigeria? It can’t be more humiliating than this. What if the foreign media asks him about his glad eye for young women colleagues? Not only will he make a spectacle of himself, but will also lower the dignity of the country. He should have been recalled immediately and handed the sack letter which he would have done to many young girls who refused to give in to him.

There were many who looked upon him as a mentor who would guide them to make better and responsible journalists. But none of them would have dreamt that he would turn out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The story is not over yet. I am sure that there certainly would be several more women journalists who would have suffered at his hands but are yet to muster courage to come out to speak against him.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many Akbars in the media who have abused trainee journalists. But what disturbs the most is that in many cases, the management was aware of the deeds of such perverts. But it did not do anything and instead looked the other way. Had the management taken note of the issue seriously and acted immediately, the situation would not have come to such a pass? But the management allowed itself to manage the dirty affairs of the editor and instead conspired to make the victim a fall guy.

What has happened in the past can’t be undone. But the situation demands that the media as a whole should introspect and take concrete steps so that such predators are not allowed to have free run.

With the #MeToo campaign picking up in India, one hopes the Indian media will be purged of these undesirable elements. 

IMRAN KHAN IS THE PROXY OF PAKISTANI ARMY

Pakistan military’s penchant for ruling the country is not a secret. More than half of the 71 years since the formation of Pakistan, the military has directly ruled the country. But military regimes do not command the respect and recognition given there is an overwhelming opposition to military rule. Mindful of the dire consequences if it fiddled with democracy and took direct control, there has been a tectonic shift in Pakistani military’s strategy in recent years. Since independence, Pakistan military has been pulling strings behind the scenes regarding defence and foreign policy matters whenever any democratically-elected government came to power, and the latter pusillanimously put a stamp of approval without a little whimper of protest.

orfonline.org

But when three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who enjoyed widespread support among the masses, decided to establish his authority, he was unceremonious ousted and sidelined. The Pakistani army used every dirty trick and even forced the judiciary to collude with it in first toppling Sharif from power on corruption charges, seen by many as a selective targeting, before sending him to jail. The army was miffed with Sharif who sought to assert civilian supremacy by imposing his government’s writ on internal and external affairs, in particular with his decision to improve relations with India. The generals had every reason to feel angry and cheated as Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) was the main beneficiary when it came to power for the first time in 1990, when the army engineered the defeat of the then Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government.

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With both PPP and PML-N out of its favour, the army needed a third political force. Who else could fit the bill other than Imran Khan who was emerging as a potential prime ministerial candidate by promising a clean government and a welfare state in a country which had become synonymous with corruption? The army zeroed in on him and the first signs of future collaboration emerged when it gave its tacit support to his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) which along with cleric Tahir ul-Qadri took out a march to Islamabad to seize Parliament in 2014 in its bid to oust Sharif government.  That Imran Khan and Pakistani army were working in tandem was revealed by none other than the cricketer’s party president Javed Hashmi on the day of the seizure of the headquarters of the state broadcaster Pakistan TV. At a press conference, Hashmi dropped a bombshell by saying that Khan had told him that he was plotting with the army to oust Sharif government and that some members of the country’s top court were also involved.

It had by now become ample clear that there was no love lost between the powerful army and Nawaz Sharif and the latter was trying to come out of the shadows of his masters. The relations took a turn for worse when Pakistan’s widely read newspaper Dawn published a news story in 2016 citing a meeting where in the civilian government told the senior military officials to do more on the fight against armed groups following the mounting international pressure. The generals were told in no uncertain terms that the failure to take action against the armed groups could invite the country international censure as well as isolation. As expected, all hell broke loose and the military saw a vicious campaign against it by the Sharif government in leaking details of what was supposed to be a confidential meeting.

That proved to be the final straw. With writing on the wall clear, Sharif started taking on the army more aggressively. His accusation that the army was not only in the know but facilitated the entire operation of a terrorist attack on the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people was a deliberate ploy. Sharif wanted to portray the image of his government as helpless and the military generals as main villains in the country’s inability to fight against the militant groups as demanded by the US and other countries in exchange of financial assistance. While Sharif’s attacks against military generals became shriller, he   committed the gravest mistake of his life by simultaneously opening another front against the judiciary following the Panama paper leaks in which he along with his family and friends were named for their links with offshore companies. As the proverb goes: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”, the army and the judiciary joined hands to form a formidable alliance against Sharif, and it became clear that Sharif’s days were numbered!

Imran Khan smelled the rat and petitioned the court which ordered the formation of a six-member joint investigation team (JIT), which included four members from Federal Investigation Agency, National Accountability Bureau, Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence. With majority of the members drawn from Pakistani military and intelligence, it was a known outcome. As expected, Sharif was found guilty and disqualified for holding public office.

Unlike previous elections, Pakistani military, this time, decided to prop up a government which lacked a massive mandate and would always be dependent on it for running the affairs of the government. Had it not been the overt and covert operations by Pakistani army and the dirty intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party stood no chance of emerging as the single largest party. Pakistani military’s interference began early this year when several lawmakers of Sharif’s party defected in Balochistan province all of a sudden and formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) along with independents. That BAP is the pro-military party is not something which is a secret in Pakistan.

As the elections approached, lawmakers of Sharif’s party were coerced into deserting the party with the threat of corruption charges. There were media reports of massive rigging during polls in favour of Imran Khan’s party. It was not as if the military leaders had any special affinity for Khan. Their primary interests lay in ousting Sharif from power.

As it turned out, Imran’s PTI emerged as the single largest political party but way short of the numbers to form the government on its own. Everything was planned to the perfect and the results suited the army generals. It took several days before Imran could stitch together a government with support from several political parties, including military-backed BAP, and other independents. 

With the sword of uncertainty permanently hanging over his head, Imran would have little time to go against the army. This is an ideal situation for the Pakistani army as it can dictate its policies on the incumbent government. The only difference this time is the army will have complete stranglehold on the government unlike on earlier occasions when it restricted itself to foreign and defence policy issues. In Imran Khan, the army has found a perfect lame duck prime minister who will provide legitimacy to the military-controlled government.