Generals Push For Early Election In Pakistan
Former Prime Minister, Imran Khan has announced that he will launch the Islamabad long march on May 25. Tabling his demands, the PTI chairman said that he is demanding the date of fresh elections and the dissolution of the assembly, reported Islam Khabar.
Imran Khan’s supporters, in thousands, are already on the streets and are indoctrinated enough to take on the state institutions which can turn out to be a civil war as the Prime Minister warned.
The Shehbaz Sharif government has its own problems to deal with. It is at best a coalition of convenience and offers no hope of a united front against the imminent challenges like inflation, and debt that the country is facing. Even within the government, there is the problem of elder Sharif in London and the young one in Islamabad trying to pull a lame horse to trot. This is reflected in the critical issue of the IMF bailout, according to Islam Khabar.
In response, to Iimran,the interim government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has unleashed a revenge campaign against PTI leaders like Shireen Mazari and journalists who are siding with Imran Khan. Charges are flying thick and strong, all of which puts the country’s future in dire straits.
In recent months, the call for the general election in Pakistan has grown louder and it seems that the ‘neutral generals’ are giving up their neutrality and are coming back into the game as they are pushing for an early election in the country so that they can appoint the next Army chief.
Army has been talking to select a political and financial leader as there is a possibility of creating a caretaker government before declaring the election, Islam Khabar reported citing credible reports.
Notably, these reports are more than rumours circulating in Islamabad.
Former Pakistan Finance Ministers Hafiz Sheikh and Shaukat Tarin, along with the former State Bank Governor Raja Baqir, were called by the Generals for consultations on the International Monetary Fund deliberations. The Generals do not want to lose the IMF deliberations and urged a united approach to get an urgent bailout.
Accepting the bailout means ending the fuel subsidy, a highly unpopular decision which would bury the chances of the party winning the election. There is talk that the Shehbaz Sharif government would rather quit than end fuel subsidies.
There is no unity in the PMLN and its allies in the party, hence there are different voices being heard on this issue.
The factor which seems to spur such anxious confabulations and worries is that time-the government has to take some hard decisions or else the economy is primed for a nosedive and this is what makes the Generals worry the most. They felt that Pakistan can turn into the Sri Lanka issue where angry people would turn on the road in protest, reported Islam Khabar.
Regarding this, the Generals have already warned the Imran Khan brigade to step back on mudslinging. The Shireen Mazari incident is a part of one of their game. Pro-Imran journalists have also been charged with sedition. The media authority has issued a strict warning against casting a slur on Generals and judges.
The fear of the gumboot is back in vogue and incidents of anonymous hits and abductions are likely to follow in the days ahead.
