STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan
DG ISPR has made the ultimate sacrifice. He has committed “Hara-kiri”, a suicide ritual in Japan, of his credibility. ISPR represents armed forces, mainly army. It previously was a respected source of information and army’s position. Their briefings were short and to the point. Each sentence was interpreted and analyzed for their real meaning internally and internationally. Unfortunately like the demise of morality and rule of law in the country, this institution has gone the same way. The recent DGsrambling press conference has hit the bottom of the pit. He conveyed a clear message; ISPR promotes PML(N)’spoint of view working in tandem.
This damning indictment of PTI was countered forcefully by my friend Rauf Hassan, Umar Ayub and other PTI leaders. It was followed fearlessly by IK’s media talk and his message to the nation. Not to be outdone, Army Chief’s message on May 9th has further sharpened the widening divide between the ruling Generals and the sentiments of a vast majority of Pakistanis.
As a political worker and observer for decades, it’s my conclusion that rulers in power always attempt to diffuse volatile situations to consolidate their rule. Unfortunately,our reckless defacto ruler has only one answer to any given situation; beat up, suppress and destroy. This reminds me of childhood memories of old Bedford trucks,loaded to hilt, driving on winding hilly roads of Abbottabad. Many drivers got careless and went over the cliff due to failed brakes. Our “leader” is displaying the same behaviorputting the future of the country at risk.
Where do we stand today? The temperatures are at a boiling point on all sides. We have a political government propped up by the Establishment on one side and the joint opposition on the other. The political government ofShahbaz Sharif has no legitimacy. It is a product of fake form 47 and they are petrified of stepping out amongst the masses. They have no agenda or platform except bogus advertisements. Benefiting from a false flag operation, they act as parrots giving the same answer to any question; and the answer is “May 9th!” They would not last a day without Establishment’s support.
How do you define Establishment? For the naïve it represents multiple layers of capable technocrats, bureaucrats and experts that constitutes an administrative structure. In our case it is a total misnomer. Our Establishment consists of the Army Chief and a few generals, Nawaz Sharif, a tainted Chief Justice and a rogue CEC. Essentially it is a one-man rule harboring ambitions of a prolonged rule seeking to bulldoze all opponents.
How did it all come about? Since 1953 Pakistani rulers have become surrogates of USA. They have dictated our policy through Generals directly or puppets installed by generals. Bhutto bucked the system and was eliminated by Zia. Towards end of 2021 it became clear to the bosses that IK was his own man. He was acting in the best interest of Pakistan seeking to pursue an independentpolicy. That did not fit their bill. Through an elaborate ruse that became the blueprint for the “London Plan.” General Bajwa, Nawaz Sharif and Zardari with tacit support of State Department overthrew PTI Government in April 2022.
The Plan was based on the false assumption that IK had lost public support and would wither away. Instead,Pakistanis refused to accept the corrupt PDM Government installed as a replacement. For a full year during which Bajwa was replaced by General Asim Muneer, PTI supporters were brutalized and suppressed ruthlessly. Yet IK’s support kept growing by leaps and bounds. His public meeting attracted mammoth crowds and PDM was wiped out in most by-elections. General Asim turned out to be a bigger fascist than Bajwa.
Early in 2023 the Generals realized that PDM was toothless and totally ineffective; they had to step in to implement the London Plan. A false flag operation was designed and implemented on May 9th 2023. It unleashed a reign of terror never seen before in Pakistan. Objective was to dismember PTI and persecute them into submission, incarcerate and convict IK, clear Sharifs and Zardaris and install Nawaz as PM. CJ Qazi and CEC Raja fully backed this endeavor using the “Law of Necessity” and delivered on all fronts. Despite all this cruelty, majority of Pakistanis stood their ground. On Feb 8th 2024 the voters rejected “The Plan” and solidly came out supporting IK giving PTI 180 seats.
On May 9, 2024, on the anniversary, the masses rejected General Asim’s propaganda and clearly demonstrated that support of PTI remains undiminished. PTI represents their hopes and dreams. The students brought out in support of Generals version of events raised slogans for IK. This was a slap across the face of pretenders.
In this highly charged atmosphere where the Generals are unwilling to relent, PTI is slowly but surely gaining ground. After two years of relentless persecution, PTI cadres have become battle-hardened. Judiciary has reacted to agencies bullying and displaying a backbone. Economy is collapsing and the touted SPIC forum to bring investments has failed miserably. The opposition is morphing together and lawyers are joining this resistance.
The next three months will be decisive. Pakistanis are no longer afraid. They have lost respect for Generals hiding behind martyrs. The choice is simple; to bow down to a one-man rule or stand-up for a better future under the rule of law for an unfettered democracy.
