Imran Khan was always going to protect the powers that be in Pakistan. India shouldn’t have expected anything different

The tale of Doctor Faust is taught in many classrooms. It is the story of a man, a real-life medieval German alchemist apparently, who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for untold wealth and power. It is an allegorical tale that tells of the dangers of giving up on one’s principles and values in a head-long rush to achieve success. Of course, almost every politician anywhere in the world drives a Faustian bargain because they never expect the pigeons will come home to roost, and Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, is possibly the best example of a man who has made such a deal. While he achieved immense success on the cricket field, notably leading his men to the famous victory in the Cricket World Cup in 1992, he entered Pakistani politics in an attempt to clean up the dire state of that country. Yet, as everyone knows, for years, he was but a minor irritant in the Pakistani political arena, dominated as it was by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League (PML) in the periods the military was not in power. Seeing himself being sidelined by almost everyone, Imran Khan clearly dealt with the devil, the Pakistani military and its terror factories. Indeed, when Talibani terrorists killed 132 children in a devastating attack, Khan did not outrightly condemn the incident. In retrospect, everyone should have seen the writing on the wall. Khan was propelled to power last year on the back of terrorist factions, including those led by Masood Azhar, and indirectly by the military, the latter going out of its way to hobble Nawaz Sharif’s PML from putting up a fair fight. And even though in his first address after becoming the Prime Minister, Khan sounded conciliatory towards India, that was just a ruse. He had made his deal with the military and the Pakistani deep state and that was made evident by the recent Pulwana attack where several of our jawans paid with their lives.

Khan demanded proof from India for the attack even though Azhar and his terror cohorts had taken responsibility. As we know, India has consistently shared details of Pakistani involvement in terror acts, including the horrific incidents in Mumbai a decade ago. Those ‘dossiers’ must be gathering dust after having being read with some amusement by Pakistan’s terror handlers. Khan has “warned” India against any military adventurism. Although it would not be appropriate for India to go to war just now, it can and must respond to this attack by Pakistan. How it does so will remain to be seen, although Pakistan does a fairly good job of strangling itself. But we should not expect Khan to take any action, no matter how damning the proof we provide. Khan has decided to sleep with the devil and he has made his own bed; announcements of huge planned investments will barely change that nation, which has now been eclipsed by its erstwhile eastern half, Bangladesh, economically. At the end of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, written by English playwright John Marlowe, Faust was dragged into hell when the devil came to take what is due to him. It would do Imran Khan well to remember this tale.