Pakistan: A State of Complexities and Instabilities

Till 2008, Pakistan was ruled by military dictators for almost 35 years. Pakistan has a dark history of military intervention in politics and political failures. The military has consistently undermined democratic institutions due to a lack of sincere and competent leadership and weak democratic institutions. Although the military leadership has contributed to the economy of the land, on the other side, they violated human rights, controlled the press, abrogated the sacred document of the country many times, and every military president pushed the country into war. It is rightly said that “a worse democracy is better than a good dictatorship.”

Pakistan is home to complexities, military intervention in politics, and political and economic instabilities. Since its inception, the country has been facing a leadership crisis. The country has great names in its history. However, they all surrendered their abilities to their egos and self-interests. In 1999, Gen. Musharraf overthrew the democratic government of Nawaz Sharif and imposed martial law.

After 9/11, Musharaf pledged his support to the United States in the war against terrorism. It was a surprising journey, from supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan to fighting a war against them. During the war against terrorism, terrorists entered Pakistan, and the militants who fought against the USSR founded Tahrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in 2007. Which later killed and abducted hundreds of people, bombed schools and police stations, attacked girls and women, and targeted women’s education. In the war against terrorism, Pakistan lost almost 80k lives, and more than 400 drone attacks have been recorded in Pakistan. After Musharaf’s era, the military bureaucracy displayed professionalism under Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani and detached from politics.

With the emergence of Imran Khan, the people of Pakistan saw a new dream of prosperity and development. In the 2013 general elections, Imran Khan received the second-highest number of votes and seats in the national assembly. It is said that “opposition is the beauty of democracy.” However, Imran Khan proved it wrong by not attending the national assembly sessions. It didn’t stop Khan’s charisma. He stood tall outside the parliament and exposed the corrupt mafia. After his outspoken attitude and speeches on containers, people chanted for him. The mainstream media portrayed him as the only savior of the nation and economy. He earned the support of the establishment. Despite fighting against corruption, later, Khan included corrupt electables in his party.

In the 2018 general elections, Imran Khan won the highest number of seats. With his new strategy, he invited all those to the coalition government whom he had opposed the most before. Imran Khan glorified Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa during his tenure and named him the most democratic military officer. Instead of focusing on economic growth and development, Imran Khan started political victimization.

His pro-military stance Paved the way for retired military officers to enter major government-led institutions.  He was dictated by the Army chief from the back doors; he later confirmed this claim in his speeches. Later, the nomination of the new Director General of ISI distanced Imran Khan from the Army Chief. The opposition parties took advantage of this and ousted Imran Khan through a vote of no-confidence. Since then, Imran Khan has been anti-establishment, although he was part of the hybrid regime.

Every political party in Pakistan had contacts with the establishment for their political interests. Those who blamed the establishment for bringing Imran Khan are now playing into their hands. The incumbent government ousted Imran Khan due to a rise in inflation and economic instability. However, they badly failed to stabilize the economy. Pakistan has no good history of civilian supremacy. Parliament has always bowed down to the establishment. Growing democratic culture and institutions is the need of time. Otherwise, the future is bleak.