The way Imran was dragged by security personnel is deplorable but he is no friend of democracy
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has done what few politicians in his country have done: take on the Army. Three A’s, they say, rule Pakistan: Allah, Army and America. Khan is at odds with two of them: Army and America. He and his supporters believe that Allah is with him, so he will emerge victorious against all odds. They would like to portray him as a David against many a Goliath. The manner in which he was arrested—rudely pushed by the heavily armed Rangers, caught by his collar, in full view—makes it clear that the Establishment, comprising the military and bureaucracy, is not in a conciliatory mood. This is despite the fact that he is a hugely popular leader. In fact, even before becoming a politician he was a national hero. One of the best all-rounders the world of cricket has ever seen, he led the team in 1992 which won the world cup—the first and last time Pakistan ever did. When he announced his entry into politics, he had little support from anywhere. He almost single-handedly built his party, the PTI, and worked hard to become a political force. He became prime minister in 2018, but it was with the help of the Army. The generals thought that Khan would be a pliable tool in their hands, a puppet whom they would manipulate. But the puppet proved to be too recalcitrant for the puppeteers; the major point of divergence was regarding the ties with the West in general and the United States in particular. Khan, arguably the most Westernised Pakistani public figures earlier, increasingly veered towards Islamism. He also proved to be staunchly anti-America. This didn’t go down well with America and the Army.
Unsurprisingly, the Army turned against Khan, leading to his removal and the revival of the fortunes of his political enemies—the Sharif family and the Pakistan People’s Party. So, the National Accountability Bureau, which once tormented Khan’s enemies over corruption allegations, became his nemesis. Such are the vicissitudes of politics in Pakistan. Should the arrest of a former prime minister and the assertion of the military be regarded as an assault on democracy? Certainly not in this case. To begin with, as we mentioned earlier, Khan became prime minister because the Army wanted him to be in the first place. He was and is popular, but did not get enough seats in the National Assembly, even with the Army’s support, to occupy the top office. Second, it is still a civilian Government that is in power, not a military dictator. Thirdly, while Khan is popular and swears by democracy, the democracy he has in mind is not India and other liberal democracies are familiar with; his ideal is Riasat-e-Medina, an Islamist utopia, which is unlikely to be a nice place for non-Muslims or even moderate Muslims. Not for nothing is he called Taliban Khan. Hopefully, the establishment in Pakistan would be able to end Imran’s political career.
