Imran under fire as Pakistan's Opposition parties unite for fresh protests

Pakistan is bracing for more protests after an alliance of opposition parties kicked off a series of rallies calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Khan’s administration is facing its biggest political challenge yet as it tries to manage a backlash over soaring food prices. Pakistan is importing sugar, tomatoes and the most wheat in a decade to stabilize prices after the South Asian nation witnessed its first economic contraction in about seven decades following a coronavirus lockdown.

At the same time, the government’s crackdown on opposition groups and the media has intensified. In an unprecedented move, two former prime ministers, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Nawaz Sharif, along with the current prime minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Raja Farooq Haider, have been charged with treason for criticizing the military.

Pakistan’s powerful military commanders are also facing unusual criticism from opposition parties who have accused them of meddling in politics and toppling governments, intensifying the pressure on Khan’s pro-army administration.

Sharif accused army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and General Faiz Hameed, the head of the country’s spy agency, of conspiring to topple his previous government to help bring Khan to power. His claim -- made in a speech from London at a rally in Gujranwala on Friday -- set the tone for the 11-party opposition movement’s series of rallies that aim to oust Khan from power within three months.

Army tightens grip on Pakistan as Imran Khan’s popularity wanes

The army has always been criticized for its outsize role in politics and governance, but “this is the first time its top leadership has been named for ousting elected governments,” said Naeem Ahmed, the chairman of international relations department at the University of Karachi. The opposition parties are “feeling insecure after a third political force emerged on the political horizon and formed a government with the clear support of the military establishment,” he said.

Khan ‘Worried’
 

Analysts have long seen army support as critical for Khan’s party, which holds just 46% of the seats in parliament and relies on smaller coalition partners to stay afloat. A survey by Gallup Pakistan last month found 47% hold Khan’s government responsible for destroying the economy, while 41% disagreed. A majority of 51% agreed the army should stay out of politics, while 40% said it has a role in politics and overall management of the country, the survey found.

Khan’s “body language” shows he is worried, according to Shaista Tabassum, a political analyst from Karachi.

“Nawaz Sharif has gone for a head on collision with the establishment,” the former chairwoman of the department of international relations at the University of Karachi, said on the phone, referring to the army. “The opposition alliance is building a momentum around their common agenda of ousting Imran Khan. The establishment is very intelligent and it will not stand behind a government which is fast losing popularity.”

The army, which has directly ruled Pakistan for about half of its existence since 1947, took a more active role in policy making beyond foreign and national security issues after Bajwa met top business leaders privately to find ways to boost the economy. The military has been instrumental in getting rival political parties to coordinate during the pandemic while former and current officers are running key government programs including China’s Belt and Road projects in Pakistan and Khan’s main economic stimulus housing program.

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While the military has not responded to the opposition’s criticism, Khan vowed to defend the army, while accusing Sharif of following a “pro-India agenda.”

Sharif had his seven-year imprisonment in a corruption case suspended by the Islamabad High Court almost a year ago to seek medical treatment in London. He was disqualified by the Supreme Court in 2017 for not declaring his assets, a verdict that Sharif says was handed out under army chief Bajwa’s pressure.

“Nawaz Sharif has crossed the point of no return,” said Burzine Waghmar, a member of the Centre for the Study of Pakistan at SOAS University of London. “I do not think Khan-Bajwa will buckle under pressure despite the growing dissatisfaction across the country. For now they both will have to rough it out.”