You are all aware of what is going on and what the situation is in Pakistan at the moment. Imran Khan and the army are at daggers drawn. The short history of the country attests to the fact that no politician has ever been able to prevail over the army. It is also true that no one has ever presented the army with a challenge like Imran! Therefore, it is difficult to predict who will win this ‘war’. The most pressing question of the day is the concern raised by Imran Khan. He has warned of the repeat of 1971. Imran’s warning clearly indicates that Pakistan can disintegrate!
So the question is, is there truly such an apprehension? Nothing can be said for sure at the moment but there was no such apprehension before 1971 too. Who could have predicted that Pakistan’s eastern half would become Bangladesh while it was in the grip of unprecedented persecution by the Pakistani army? At that time, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Awami League had won 167 of the 300 seats in the Pakistan National Assembly, but General Yahya Khan prevented him from forming the government. The army began a violent cycle of persecution in East Pakistan. People began fleeing to India. The world turned a blind eye because America supported Pakistan, but India’s the then brave Prime Minister Indira Gandhi acted courageously. There was a war between Pakistan and India. Pakistan was defeated and East Pakistan became Bangladesh. Pakistan conspired and had Mujibur Rahman assassinated. Yahya Khan was the chief conspirator. Russia had alerted India about this conspiracy. His life could have been saved if the intelligence report would have arrived a few hours earlier.
I’m not sure where Imran Khan got the idea that Pakistan would disintegrate again! His words may appear fictitious at the time, but it is true that the condition of Pakistan is extremely bad. How long does it take for a dilapidated house to collapse? And Pakistan’s foundations are shaky. Do you know that Pakistan, which gained independence a day before India, took nine years to frame its own constitution? Let me also tell you that our country’s prominent lawyer Ram Jethmalani assisted the first law minister of Pakistan Yogendranath Mandal in framing the constitution. Despite this, the constitution was written in such a way that the army disobeyed and violated it at will! Though Pakistan became a republic in 1956, there was no space for the people in that system! If any leader tried, the army either overthrew him or he just passed away. Do you know that Pakistan’s first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated in Rawalpindi? Moreover, there is a long list of leaders who have been assassinated. The army and the ISI do not want democracy to be restored there.
To summarise, the republic exists only on paper. The army is all powerful there. With the exception of Imran Khan, Pakistan now lacks a single popular leader with mass support. Imran has impressed the youth. They believe that this individual can work for the betterment of Pakistan. China, on the other hand, does not want Imran to succeed. The political and administrative systems in Pakistan have come to an end as a result of the army and ISI machinations. Only the army is strong. The Pakistani army is the ninth largest in the world in terms of size, but is it really strong too? It suffered defeat in every misadventure it did with India. Despite all of America’s assistance, including sophisticated weapons, fighter aircraft and tanks, Pakistan was soundly defeated, even with full covert support from China. The valiant Indian army ripped it apart. Therefore, it is normal to be skeptical of its abilities. In the course of taking over the control of the country, the Pakistani army has weakened itself. Terrorists trained to create trouble in India have become messengers of death for itself. Hillary Clinton once told Pakistan that if you keep a snake, it will bite you one day. Today, not a month goes by without the Pakistani army being assaulted by terrorists in their own country!
The terrorist group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) openly talks of invading Pakistan. The Taliban, not the Pakistani army, controls much of Afghanistan. TTP kidnapped 33 army personnel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in December of last year. Furthermore, TTP continues to disseminate propaganda videos depicting its snipers assaulting the Pakistan army. TTP has been joined by terrorists from the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. It was founded by the same Baitullah Masood who is accused of plotting to kill Benazir Bhutto! Masood is the creation of the ISI that trained and nurtured him. Today, he openly talks of establishing Sharia law and attacking the army. In the northern region of the nation, the TTP has declared a government with a proper cabinet. The Pakistani army cannot harm him! TTP killed over 300 soldiers last year. People have been asked not to accompany Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto anywhere. For, ‘action’ against them can be taken any time!
On the other hand, there are ongoing protests against Pakistan in the Gilgit Baltistan region. They want that the road up to Kargil should be opened. The people of this region are sick and tired of Pakistan. They wish to be independent and join our Kashmir. Minorities there are in terrible condition. They don’t want to stay in Pakistan for even a second. They love India. When the situation is so bad, it will not be a surprise if Pakistan disintegrates again! Pakistan’s misfortune is that it never had the control in its hands. The army has the remote control over the entire country. As for the army, America had its remote control earlier and the same is with China now. Imran had to go due to the same remote control as he refused to dance to their tunes. In today’s situation, I believe Pakistan has pressed the suicide button! The most serious concern amid all this is that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons should not fall into the hands of terrorists! May God keep
you safe, Pakistan!