Muhammad Haroon
Politics is art, which is not for everyone to perform. Global political landscape of the world is changing rapidly despite various ongoing conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine War and conflict between Hamas and Israel. Governments, politicians are making attempts to decrease political temperature in order to bring peace and prosperity. Democracy is the only way forward to mitigate these conflicts. Strengthening of state institutions and believing in them could be the best possible solution to cater ongoing challenges. One has to resolve its political differences on their own, not by being an outsider or inviting strangers.
Recently, we have witnessed such trends where few political parties and their leaders have been seeking support in the international community to resolve their political crisis, which is somehow sheer violation of the laws of land. Pakistan is among those countries whose politicians are seeking support of world leaders for political gains despite knowing the fact that this is not even permitted in their constitution.
When former cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan joined politics back in 1996, he announced to launch a movement of justice across the country. However, he ignored his own assertions later on and allegedly sought support from military rulers to attain power. He even received funding from abroad, which is prohibited as per the Elections Act and constitution of Pakistan. His party has been accused of getting massive financial donations from illegal sources based in foreign countries. But, still he is peddling the narrative of justice.
When former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from power in 2022 through a legitimate vote of confidence, he blamed the USA for orchestrating his removal which ultimately resulted in thaw in Pakistan’s ties with the USA. He accused a few officials of the Biden administration of masterminding his removal from the office of Prime MInister. However, he had failed to substantiate his claims and couldn’t provide any evidence.
Likewise, after his removal he launched scathing attacks against civil and military leadership of the country while also instigating his supporters to attack both civil and military officials. Following the instructions of Imran Khan, his supporters and party leaders attacked military installations on May 9, 2023. The events of May 9 changed the political landscape of the country and the government arrested those involved in 9 May mayhem. Since then, Imran Khan and his party leaders are behind bars and facing courts for their act of vandalism.
Owing to the actions of the military and government against Imran KHan and his supporters, Imran’s party (PTI) has sought help of foreign countries to get their leader released from prison where he is being kept for inciting violence against the state. Recently, Imran Khan himself urged British Prime Minister Starmer and sought his support to pressurize the government of Pakistan for his release and immediately conduct free and fair elections in the country. The assertions of Imran Khan are totally unconstitutional and contrary to inviting a foreign country to intervene in the political matters of a sovereign state. Such acts come under high-treason charges and must not be tolerated. He must be punished for this act too and given exemplary punishment. Inviting a foreign country in political matters is not a small thing.
Apart from political differences, one must understand the limitations and sensitivity of state affairs. Such acts are tantamount to compromising the independence and sovereignty of the country. If any person has some valid concerns, he must approach the judiciary and other institutions for his addressal. This is not the way to malign their own country for mere political gains as such acts left negative implications for the country in future.
As far as political grievances of Imran Khan are concerned, he must establish talks with and cooperate with other political parties as dialogues are the only way forward. Inviting a third force while ignoring their own institutions and laws will not solve the problems, instead it will further complicate the matter. Political problems can be solved with political consensus, not by seeking help from other countries.
In a nutshell, political parties must realize that there shouldn’t be compromise on national interests and they should set aside their differences for larger interests of the country. Inviting a third country for political gains will not provide positive optics for the country. Therefore, one must be careful while passing remarks. Last but no the least, one should not be spared for violating laws of the land and inciting people for violence against state for mere political gains. Let the court decide either they are innocent or guilty.
*The writer is Islamabad based regular contributor and can be reached at muhammadtariq8484@gmail.com
**The opinions in this article are the author’s own and do not represent the views of The Diplomatic Insight. The organization does not endorse or assume responsibility for the content.
