Islamabad,(Samajweekly) Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s political uprising with towering popularity was achieved with an unprecedented support of the country’s powerful military establishment, which showcased him as not only a celebrity image, but also a Robin Hood on a mission to stand against the political system ruled by family-driven leaders for the past five decades.
When the cricketer-turned-politician became Prime Minister in 2018, the then opposition parties termed him a “selected” premier, who had been brought to power by the support of the military establishment.
The establishment was further criticised for tampering in the election process, using their influence to join Khan and help form a majority government.
Khan was the establishment’s blue-eyed boy, who was not only a powerful celebrity figure and a highly respected and loved philanthropist, but he was also perfect personality to emerge as a political force with no political background against the seasoned and sharp forces in the Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) .
During Khan’s tenure, his government was blamed for having support of the military establishment throughout, who were backing him in every possible decision his regime intended to take.
It was then believed that Khan would most certainly become the country’s first Prime Minister to complete a full five-year tenure and will also sweep the 2023 electionsby a single majority.
But amid what seemed like a never-ending love affair and close ties between Khan and former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistan’s relations with friendly countries like China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE along, as well as those in the West including the US and the European Union (EU) started to deteriorate because of the former premier’s position on various issues including Afghanistan, the Russia-Ukraine war and his announcement on the formation of a three-country alliance to represent the Muslim world against Islamophobia.
Khan’s close relationship with Bajwa also seemed to push the latter to bypass his own military and take the former Prime Minister’s side on many issues, causing discomfort and deviations within the army.
“Imran Khan’s speech at the UNGA where he announced a troika formation of an alliance between Pakistan, Malaysia and Turkey against Islamophobia was something that ticked off the Arab countries severely,” said Javed Siddique, a senior political analyst.
“China was also unhappy with Khan that it stopped many China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) linked projects after he called for re-scrutiny of agreements citing excessive commissions being taken by Chinese companies.
“Imran Khan’s opposition of the then ISI chief Major General Asif Munir was only because Khan felt that Munir was crossing the line and digging into matters related to corruption of his wife Bushra Bibi and former Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, This resulted in the removal of Munir as ISI chief, while Faiz Hameed (Khan’s favourite military man) was appointed as a replacement. This was also something that asserted more pressure on Bajwa by his own military quarters,” the analyst added.
But the close ties between Khan and Bajwa fell like a house of cards when the latter decided not to support the former premier and allowed the opposition alliance to initiate a vote of no confidence against him on April 11, 2022, which led to his ouster.
Since then, Khan’s love for the military turned to hate as he publicly ridiculed the army establishment for siding with the opposition, who he called thieves and looters of the country and for becoming part of a conspiracy of regime change against him.
Khan’s anti-establishment rhetoric continued to flare up with time, an outburst of which was witnessed on May 9, when his arrest prompted angry and violent protests in the country with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters responding to their chief’s call and targeting military installations through mob attacks and vandalism.
Today, Khan’s PTI party stands dismantled while he had landed in jail on corruption chargers.
His fame in politics quickly shifted to legal battles as he has over 200 cases registered against him currently.
While Imran Khan’s anti-military narrative has put an end to his close relations with the establishment; his public support and the anti-military sentiments injected into the masses seems to be intact.
Many believe people love Khan for daring to call out the military might and expose their intentions to control matters of political nature as well.
While others believe that Khan’s inability to rub shoulders with the establishment and use the opportunity to bring about many changes in the country, saw the military walk away from him, only to see him fall.
