Pakistan’s parliament was dissolved by President Arif Alvi on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s advice late Wednesday night, in what set the stage for a national election amid political and economic crises. It will be followed by a caretaker administration to be picked by Sharif and an opposition leader in the outgoing parliament to hold new elections in 90 days. Sharif and his government have been given three days to name an interim leader. All this is happening amid massive failures of the Sharif government on almost all fronts, especially the economic front which has plunged the country into an unprecedented financial crisis. What a caretaker government will be able to deliver is anybody’s guess. Even after the fresh polls, there is hardly any chance of political stability returning to Pakistan. There is no denying, therefore, that the more the political instability continues in Pakistan, the more challenges it would create for India and the Southeast Asian region. While the country will be in election mode from now onwards, there is every possibility of Sharif and his colleagues resorting to tactics to divert attention of the public as well as international community from their failure to address the economic and political challenges in Pakistan. With this in view, Pakistani politicians may engage in more propagandist activities to vilify India. Cross-border terror activities and other crimes from across the border may be on the rise even as government establishments and political parties find themselves unable to give answers to the public coming to them with questions on economic failures. Pakistan may be helped by its all-weather friend China in anti-India activities and propaganda.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby’s reaction to the development in Pakistan explains the situation better. The United States is watching “with concern” events in Pakistan, Kirby told a briefing on Wednesday. Kirby made his remarks after being asked about the situation in Pakistan, where former Prime Minister Imran Khan was recently imprisoned and there has been a spike in militant attacks. “We›re obviously concerned about any actions, particularly violent actions, that can contribute to instability in Pakistan or frankly any other country with whom we share a set of common interests when it comes to counterterrorism, so we’re watching it with concern,” he said. The messages from the US give a clear picture of the implications of what is happening in Pakistan. One, the situation is going to be more volatile and unstable in days to come in Pakistan as assessed by the US spokesperson. Secondly, militant activities are going to increase amid all instability and anarchy, posing security risk and challenge in the region. Power-greedy politicians have no control over anything that could change the situation for the better. They are just fighting for power. Therefore, they will have the only option to go for tactics and conspiracies that could divert the country›s attention away from the domestic problems to other issues, of course, involving India. There are worrying reports at the same time from the US that Islamist militants, who aim to influence the political process in Pakistan, have been quite active in recent months. They have stepped up attacks since revoking a ceasefire agreement with the government in late 2022, with the security agencies of Pakistan having miserably failed to rein in terrorists. This is something that should worry India more as it poses a serious security risk to it as well. Needless to say, the political instability in Pakistan has impacted the status quo of peace between New Delhi and Islamabad. PM Sharif’s recent statement pitching for resuming talks with India was one such tactic also to divert voters’ attention from the core issues of price rise, unemployment and financial crunch in Pakistan. Here, it is important to recall the MEA’s annual report for 2022 which said that Pakistan continues to engage in “hostile and fabricated propaganda” to vilify India and to divert attention from its domestic political and economic failures. MEA had said that “there is no let-up in Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism and Islamabad is yet to show sincerity in delivering justice to the families of the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks”.
“Pakistan continues to engage in hostile and fabricated propaganda to vilify India, and to divert attention from its domestic political and economic failures,” Indian foreign ministry said, adding: “Despite India’s persistent urging that Pakistan respect its January 2004 commitment of not allowing its soil or territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India, there was no let-up in cross-border terrorism, infiltration and illegal smuggling of arms into India across the Line of Control (LoC) and International Boundary.” The MEA’s annual report is self-explanatory about how India has all the inputs and comprehensive updates on Pakistan’s propaganda to vilify New Delhi. There is no doubt that India has not lowered its guard and it is equally watchful of the development in Pakistan so as to prepare its response to any challenge that arises in future as the neighbouring country is in an election mode now. New Delhi’s security agencies and diplomatic establishments must continue to closely monitor the situation, given Pakistan’s state players’ plan to ramp up activities to foment trouble for India in a bid to divert attention from their own failures.