Pakistan has quickly descended into chaos after Imran Khan, the country's first prime minister, was ousted from office in a no-confidence vote in parliament on April 10. Khan made bombshell charges in an attempt to prevent his removal, accusing the US of hatching a concerted conspiracy with a motley coalition of Pakistani opposition groups to destabilise his administration.
While the charges have been denied by Washington, they have put further strain on Pakistan's long-troubled relationship with the US, a key security and economic ally. The sight of Khan's detention has heightened the hazards of innumerable smouldering embers waiting to be sparked throughout Pakistan's political, religious, and terrorist spectrums.Khan has doubled down on his US-directed conspiracy story since his departure, without giving any convincing proof, in a nation where anti-Americanism and militancy are rampant. Khan tweeted immediately after his removal, "Pakistan became an independent state in 1947; however the liberation fight continues afresh today against a foreign conspiracy of regime change." He claimed that he would not accept a "US-backed regime change" that "bring[s] into power a clique of malleable criminals," calling his political opponents "national traitors" and the new caretaker administration "imported."
Meanwhile, Khan has urged his supporters to hold nationwide rallies to show that Pakistan is a "zinda qaum," or "living nation," and to resist the imposition of a "imported" prime minister. His supporters have reacted with gusto, taking to the streets in large-scale protests across Pakistan, a country twice the size of California with a population of 210 million people. Khan's poisonous nationalist ideas have already split the country dangerously. He has suddenly emerged as an even more dangerous loser as a result of the legislative procedures.Provocative public displays of support for Pakistan's formidable army. Despite calling for peaceful protests, Khan has enticed the country's generals to act and militarily intervene on his side, thinking that doing so now will only enhance his position. Furthermore, despite fuelling Pakistan's anti-Americanism at home, he recognises that any entry by the Pakistan Army, particularly a deadly one, would be unacceptable to Washington. If the Army apprehends Khan now, he would become a political martyr, which will, ironically, gain him Western political backing.
Khan used his illustrious cricketing career as inspiration to administer Pakistan like a cricket stadium and his administration like a cricket match—that is, as a one-man show.Despite losing the legislative majority on March 30, he refused to acknowledge that his Imran Khan-only shambolic administration, economic incompetence, foreign-policy blunders, and conflicts with his military masters had cracked the walls of his political sandcastle.
Instead, he clung to power by devising a narrative of a US plot to inspire Pakistani nationalism and patriotism as a force multiplier, subduing Pakistan's constitution by preventing a no-confidence vote against him, and trampling the country's weak democratic process by dissolving parliament. Khan even tried to extend the parliamentary session in order to further exacerbate political uncertainty and maybe persuade Pakistan's powerful military to impose martial law.Khan's moves have so far been futile, but they may pay off in the future. Since 1977, Pakistan's military has played a significant role in the country's domestic politics, influencing power dynamics through its selection and backing of the country's leaders. Over the last 45 years, the military has repeatedly managed to call the shots without firing a shot.
While Khan's political ascent and collapse were not coincidental, the irony of both instances is almost eerie. Pakistan's whiskey-drinking generals nurtured Khan into power in a hotly contested 2018 election clouded by allegations of electoral fraud. Khan took advantage of the chance to reposition himself as a populist challenger to Pakistan's hereditary rulers.
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