Long marches have a special place in the turbulent political history of Pakistan. Imran Khan is attempting to use the murder of a journalist and his present popularity to put pressure on the government and the generals following his public rift with the army.
Imran Khan, a former prime minister of Pakistan, began a “long march” on Friday from Lahore to Islamabad (October 28). Tens of thousands of supporters are anticipated to join him along the route as he prepares to lay siege to Islamabad. Imran anticipates arriving in the Pakistani capital on November 4—that is, in one week—should the march be permitted to proceed to its conclusion.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), Imran’s party, has said that its march is in support of “haqeeqi azaadi,” or genuine freedom. Imran wants to compel a quick election and perhaps even cause enough unrest to frighten the Pakistani government and army into appointing a consensus candidate as army chief.
“Haqeeqi Azadi March” and Demand for a free and fair election
Long marches have a special place in the turbulent political history of Pakistan. A common strategy has been to threaten the status quo with a display of force in the expectation that the military will support the disruptor if and when it intervenes.
Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif regularly signalled political instability and invited the military to intervene by using the long march as a threat against each other’s governments.
With Haqeeqi Azadi March, Khan has been demanding early elections and he is leading the long march towards Islamabad to force his demands. The term of the National Assembly will end in August 2024 and fresh elections should be held within 60 days.
Imran, who was removed from power in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April of this year, has gained support in the months following, particularly after he claimed that the United States, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the head of the Pakistani Army, and the opposition parties were behind his ouster.
With the words, “We merely want fair and transparent elections and we would accept whatever the people of Pakistan decide,” Khan restated his party’s call for free and fair elections. Additionally, he requested that the chief justice establish the rule of law. He urged the chief justice to “put these people who are sitting on top of the law, under the law.”
In response, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on social media that elections would be held at the constitutional time and there is “no possibility of negotiations with Khan’s party.
Imran has chosen not to lose the opportunity
Arshad Sharif, a Pakistani journalist and television host, was killed in Kenya, adding fuel to the PTI supporters’ fire. The 50-year-old Sharif, a well-known TV personality, has made no secret of his loyalty to Khan and dislike for Gen. Bajwa.
Imran has chosen not to lose the opportunity after claiming that it was he who suggested Sharif leave the country. He has made Sharif and his family’s fight for justice his cause. Before this week, the long march had been planned for the first week of November, with a specific date still to be determined. However, as outrage and shock over Sharif’s passing spread, Imran set the departure date to October 28.
Imran’s ambitions were derailed when he was ousted from power. The former prime minister is now expressing confidence that he can win an election on his own, though, as a significant portion of Pakistanis has come out in support of him.
His confidence has increased as a result of his victory in the recent legislative by-elections. Imran campaigned for office in seven out of the eight constituencies, and he was elected in each one. Soon after, based on a complaint from earlier this year, the Pakistan Election Commission decided to exclude him from holding elective office.
Imran khan and the failure of his government
In 2017, the Pakistan Army and its intelligence service, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), helped Imran Khan win the election and go on to build his government. However, somewhere along the line, Imran and the military split up.
Numerous factors contributed, but Imran’s insistence on keeping Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, the former head of the ISI, in that position was the most significant.
Politicians playing favourites with their commanders and establishing relationships with them are not tolerated by the Pakistan Army. Lt Gen Hameed was demoted from his position as head of the Peshawar corps after some heated eyeballing in favour of Gen Bajwa.
Imran had a motivation for wanting to keep Hameed in charge of the ISI. Realistically, he had estimated that his chances of winning reelection in 2024 were slim. Because of his dismal track record of governance, the People’s Democratic Movement of the unified opposition—now the ruling coalition headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif—launched a well-supported campaign calling for his resignation and early elections.
Kakar formula and Imran khan
The phrase “Kakar Formula” has recently been used frequently in Pakistani media interpretations of what Imran is attempting to impose through his protracted march. The reference is to General Waheed Kakar, who led the Army from 1993 to 1996 and intervened to end an escalating political stalemate between Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the then-president, and Nawaz Sharif, the then-prime minister.
As Benazir Bhutto led a “long march” into Islamabad, Kakar had succeeded in forcing the resignation of both the President and the Prime Minister. An interim administration led by a technocrat from Pakistan was chosen. In October of that year, this government demanded new elections. Benazir won that election because Kakar and the interim administration maintained their impartiality.
Anti-Army remark and Imran khan
Imran Khan, a former prime minister, got into another controversy where there is ongoing criticism regarding his anti-army remark. He responded to criticism over his anti-army comments on Sunday by asserting that his party wants the Pakistan Army to be “strong” and that his “constructive” criticism was not meant to harm the formidable force. He also called for early elections to end the political impasse in the nation.
Khan emphasised to his fans that his criticism of the status quo had been productive.
The army needs to be powerful. We require a powerful army. They are not the target of my constructive criticism, he insisted.
Days after receiving criticism from the government for his anti-army attitude, which made headlines in Pakistan and India, Khan also emphasised that he had been misinterpreted.
After the death of Sadaf Naseem march was called off
On March 4, the marchers want to arrive in Islamabad, and PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry predicted that between one and 1.5 million people will do so.
A female journalist, identified as Channel 5 reporter Sadaf Naeem, died after being crushed under Khan’s container, prompting the cancellation of the long march for the day.
“Due to an accident, we are calling off today’s march. We have decided to end here, said Khan.
On Monday, the fourth day of the long march would begin in Kamoke. It was originally intended to arrive in Gujranwala by the end of the third day.
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