Pakistan Striving for Its Soul
- Written by Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.
Arrest of Imran Khan Signals Corrupt Authoritarian Order
The illegitimate Sharif government makes a final stab into the body politics of Pakistan. Vengefully indoctrinated and politically paranoid and fearful thugs and indicted criminals trying to ditch Imran Khan into the unknown. Once again, his arrest was made like a military action against a former PM. They allege he bought foreign gifts while a PM and was sentenced by a court to three years in jail. Imran Khan was hurriedly arrested without any warrant and taken to Islamabad by road. Khan claims about 100 illegal politically geared cases against him to deprive him of a political come back. It is well known that Sharif brothers, Bhuttos and Zardari have bought and sold foreign official gifts several times but not held accountable. Why should Khan be made a scapegoat? The elections are speculated to be called soon and they know well that given a fair national election chance, Imran Khan will return with a majority into the National Assembly and form the next democratic government. The ruling criminals do not believe in people’s basic rights to decide their political future. Their plans could well be defined as pure evil against the national interest of Pakistan and its masses and could lead to realization of pure evil to stop Khan no matter how and by what unrealized possibilities of political encroachments. Few of the Pakistan Generals are accomplices to this plan. They appear to have an unrestrained mental sickness to view Khan as a threat to their survival and want to eliminate him for all the times to come. The arrest of Imran Khan will cause serious challenges from the masses as it was unwarranted and result of individualistic political animosities. The few Generals view Pakistani masses as uncivilized and the new generation of educated and intelligent Pakistanis as a challenge to their authoritarianism and could drive the country closer to self- annihilation.
Sharif is likely to put a caretaker governance to compete the elections. He was indicted on money laundry and other cases of killings political opponents but bought his freedom by changing the head of the NAB entity and General Bajwa ( former chief of the staff now retired) a former Nawaz Sharif’s appointee and loyalist helped him to oust Imran Khan in April 2022 coup at the Assembly. No wonder, Pakistani politics has been a fantasy of few families under the hollow shadow of military rulers. They have stolen over fifty years of time and opportunities from the young and educated generations to make Pakistan a progressive nation.
Pakistan Looks to New Generation of Educated and Honest Leaders - Not the Generals, Sharifs or Bhuttos
National honor and glory lives in the conception of good, not conspiratorial minds. Something evocative and hauntingly familiar about the current imagery of failed political governance emerging across Pakistan. The quest for political change lacks the existence of public institutions to sustain reasoned politics, educated and intelligent leaders and proactive visions for change and adaptability to a critical future-making. A snapshot of critical moment in time and history unfolds dark imagery of political governance and military coups in Pakistan. We, the People of Pakistan lost half of our country (East Pakistan), and India was swallowed Kashmir by force and we continued to lose more in socioeconomic and political domains because of the dishonesty and failed leadership of Bhuttos, Sharifs and the Generals. These thugs stole billions and billions to own palaces in UK, France and Spain. The Thinking People of New Generation of Pakistanis view the Bhuttos, Zardari, Sharifs and General Musharaf - all in one slot – the most corrupt, crime riddled monsters who will never come to terms with reason and honesty to reflect on their own wrongdoings. They never imagined–how the present and future generations will remember them? All were individualistic and egoistic to victimize Pakistan, the masses and their future.
Even if there are organized political elections, the current chaotic culture carries a lingering suspicion of institutionalized corruption, political exploitation, killings of civilians and the coming of martial law and some form of military dictatorship in alliance with most corrupt, known thugs and indicted criminals of the recent past. The evidence supports the alliance of defunct Bhuttos, Sharif’s, military generals and other infamous so called Islamic parties. There is no moral and political accountability for thugs and indicted criminals not to return to the threshold of political power. (Please see more by this author, “Pakistan Imperatives of political Change for a progressive Nation”2019; “Pakistan where Politics and Corruption are the Same” 2014; “British Colonialism and How India and Pakistan Lost National Freedom.” (Global Research: 2022); “Pakistan in Search of Freedom and Security”, Uncommon Thought Journal and Global Research: 10/20/22, and “Pakistan, Planned Political Chaos: Imran Khan a Victim of Hope for the Future”, Global Research: 11/06/2022. Pakistan has no credible law and justice system of governance and the masses are entrenched in poverty and ignorance of the facts of political exploitation, often they are enforced to believe in traditional authority and wide range scheme of corruption-led system of opportunism as a normal way of Pakistani political life.
US-AID and Systematic Corruption of Pakistani Elite
Wherever US-Aid operates there ought to be moral, intellectual and political systematic corruption to trade-in national interests. When the US occupied Afghanistan in 2001, Pakistani Generals according to the NY Times (May 18, 2007), were paid by the US to act on its behalf - abduction and killing of thousands of Pakistani and Afghani nationals to fill Guantanamo Bay Prison. America and India had a Strategic Plan to undo Pakistan by capturing its nuclear arsenals and asking for surrender. Also See “US NATO Agenda-The Destabilization of Pakistan” 04/17/2009 by Professor Michel Chossoudvsky (https://www.globalresearch.ca/us-nato-military-agenda-the-destabilization-ofpakistan/13228. Do Pakistanis have a sense of time, history and honesty to determine – who they were and where they are? Progressive nations produce and bring the best and intelligent ones to the role of leadership and responsibility. Rationally arguable was the coming of PM Imran Khan - a hope for the future crushed by political intrigues, conspiracies of the few Generals and Sharif brothers?
We call for an immediate freedom of Imran Khan and all those detained for political reasons. The so called legal cases against Imran Khan are fraudulent political assumptions to deprive the people of Pakistan from a fair election and a progressive future. To safeguard Pakistan and its future, there should be NO Military intervention under any circumstances. If so, it will be the death of our national freedom, integrity and future. Pakistani elite are fearful if American political interests and interventions are questioned, Pakistan will lose the IMF funding – unpaid debts - the corruption hub.
We, the Conscientious People of Pakistan are searching for logical and workable approaches to undo the violence and increasingly sectarian divides for the unity of nation. None of the Generals or their accomplice could think intelligently to understand this vital linkage for the survival and progress of the country. Under military Generals, nations are destroyed, humiliated and not developed for future-making. It is an irresistible necessity of time and truth that those in power must be warned and listen to genuine voices of political necessity for change and truth for restraint and civilized behavior. Tyranny of any kind is always powerless and transitory and it must end for the beleaguered masses of Pakistan. At the moment, they are bent upon destroying public thoughts and vision for peaceful political change, reformation and organizing free and fair elections. If the Generals and their accomplice thugs and indicted criminals do not listen to the voices of reason and continue to perpetuate classical military control and impose martial law over public minds and souls, they should be aware that sooner or later they could be standing in public courts of law and justice for accountability and could end-up facing the unthinkable firing squads without any escape to their foreign Masters.
Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. Germany, 12/2019
