Not everything is politics

There are few who have the ability to think differently. There are still fewer who would live by being different. Imran Khan is one who does both as a matter of instinct. Defiance is an integral constituent of his person in formulating and implementing the shape of things.

Not many people have the inclination to understand this, much less appreciate it as it happens to be drastically different from anything practised in contemporary narratives. Khan not only has a deep-set faith in his ideals, but he pursues them with daring and defiance to take opponents by surprise. His recent innings in parliament has not been any different; the impact was literally inscribed on the faces of his adversaries who all sat there looking unbelievingly at what was unfurling in front of them. At stake was nothing less than the prospect of forming the next government for which key positions had already been allocated to individuals. Most shocked was the one who was to assume the office of the prime minister of the country. He sat there open-mouthed for an embarrassingly long period of time until someone actually nudged him back into reality.

What is far more important is to understand why Prime Minister Imran Khan had to do this and why there was no other way to go by. The opposition’s desperate bid to remove him was fully instigated, inspired and supported by foreign interests. This was duly endorsed by the National Security Committee in its session held after the receipt of the tell-all letter. The opposition’s move was necessitated by the fact that their political survival depended on the success of the vote of no-confidence.

Take the case of the Sharif clan. Nawaz Sharif is a convict and absconder. Maryam Safdar is a convict, out on temporary relief. Nawaz’s two sons, Hasan and Hussain, are absconders as is his finance minister, Ishaq Dar. Shahbaz and his son, Hamza, are facing numerous lethal cases of money laundering for which they are to be formally indicted on April 11 while his son, Salman, and son-in-law are also absconders. The case of the Zardari clan is hardly any different. He and his sister, Faryal, are facing innumerable cases of corruption while a host of his close associates in the party are confronted with similar challenges. There is hardly anyone from these two former ruling families who can be termed as unscathed.

Fazlur Rahman, the so-called leader of the opposition conglomerate PDM, is also head of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI). He trades in religion to sell his political concoction. He has been accused of having secured illegal allotment of huge chunks of land and other properties without having any legitimate sources of income. He also brandishes a private militia, Ansarul Islam, whose members are indoctrinated in the poison of violence and extremism. Clad in khaki uniforms and brandishing striped sticks, they accompany the party head at his rallies and other political engagements and are reported to have taken oath to protect him with their lives.

In addition to the lucid contents of the letter, the reality of foreign complicity is borne out by a sequence of meetings that the charge of a particular country had with a string of leaders of the opposition and some from the PTI who all later decided to switch sides to the opposition ranks in violation of the relevant constitutional provision. While there may be other reasons behind fostering this conspiracy, one immediate factor was Pakistan’s recent shift in foreign policy, directed towards securing an honourable place in the comity of nations. This was a move away from its traditional role of playing the underling in promoting the policies and security objectives of this particular country for which Pakistan was turned into a perpetual sacrificial ground. No more, said the prime minister. This did not sink in well with those who had been used to dealing with a servile country.

While the reason for this foreign interest to instigate trouble was clear, the agenda that motivated the opposition to close ranks with the move was sinister. As listed above, the criminal indulgences of their leaders have brought an end to the political careers of most of them. There are some others who are desperate to avert that eventuality. There is little time at their disposal. The only way to do that was to secure a place in the corridors of power so they could directly influence the working of the state institutions to get relief in the immediate future and have the cases written off in the longer run.

Prime Minister Khan read into the riot act early and planned to ensure that it was not delivered. With the kind of money which had been allegedly provisioned for the parties of the opposition to ensure the success of the project together with the early information that some of the PTI’s own may switch sides, he knew that drastic measures may be required for averting the prospect. He decided to call the opposition’s bluff and the no-confidence move, being foreign sponsored, was declared untenable to be tabled under Article 5 of the constitution – and was appropriately thrown out. In doing so, Prime Minister Khan may have stretched the spirit of the constitution, but its substance was not infringed, which could potentially save the day for the government benches. So, with one stroke, he not only dismantled the opposition’s narrative he also garnered further support and strengthened his position now that he was under attack by inimical forces as punishment for working to advance Pakistan’s sovereign interests.

I don’t know of another leader who would have done that. It is only Khan who can dare break the shackles if he were convinced that doing so would serve the cause of his country and its people. Here was a case where he had the information of sabotage emanating from foreign interests which was fully supported, aided and abetted by local thugs. Not only that he had little reason not to act, he had to ensure that what he did would be sustainable to subvert the vile objectives of the opposition clan to take the reins of the government in their hands. That would have been disastrous for the country, rendering it vulnerable to foreign incursions perpetrated with support from local stooges.

Living by faith, inspired by the spirit to serve, and operating with a streak of daring and defiance make Imran Khan the leader that he is. He plays by a distinctive style interspersed with uncanny variations. Much of what he does may reside beyond the pale of politics.

The writer is the special assistant to the PM on information, a political and security strategist, and the founder of the Regional Peace Institute. He tweets @RaoofHasan