Is Pakistan Heading for a Civil War That Can Torn Apart the Country From Within?

The National Security Council of Pakistan, a gathering of top civil and military authorities, has denied former Prime Minister Imran Khan's claims that the US plotted to destabilize his administration through a parliamentary vote of confidence.

Khan, 69, who has governed the nuclear-armed South Asian country of 220 million people for three and a half years, has accused Washington of supporting a plot to depose him.

Former Pakistan ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed Khan, who had written a cable to Islamabad on Washington's assessment of Khan's Moscow visit, informed civil and military authorities at a meeting dubbed the National Security Committee (NSC).

 

Official Refusal

“The NSC, after reviewing the contents of the communication, the assessment received, and the conclusion presented by the security agencies, concludes that there has been no conspiracy,” a statement from the office of new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who chaired the NSC meeting, said on Friday.

According to the report, the country's top espionage agencies advised the NSC that they had uncovered no evidence to support any conspiracy idea.

Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party urged a judicial investigation into the incident.

On February 24, the day Russian soldiers invaded neighboring Ukraine, the deposed leader met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Khan originally vetoed the no-confidence motion, claiming that the NSC had approved of the purported scheme.

 

Khan’s Campaign

Imran Khan does not seem to let go of his position easily. On Saturday April 2, Khan suggested that he will not accept a vote to oust him, a move he alleged was being orchestrated by the United States.

"How can I accept the result when the entire process is discredited? Democracy functions on moral authority—what moral authority is left after this connivance?" Khan told a select group of foreign journalists at his office.

On April 25, Imran Khan asked the workers to get ready for the Islamabad march and he will make a call in a few weeks, ARY News reported.

In a video message published through Twitter, he addressed the workers that they will have to observe a sit-in in Islamabad until the announcement of the elections.

He stated that for true freedom, people must band together because now is the time to determine whether we will be slaves or continue to be a free country.

Imran Khan congratulated PTI voters and supporters on the 26th anniversary of the PTI's founding, saying that he started the PTI in Lahore with several friends 26 years ago. The goal was to transform Pakistan into an Islamic welfare state.

“No one can make progress unless the rule of law prevails. Justice means everyone is under the law. It is not possible for the powerful to be above the law and do whatever they want,” he said.

Imran Khan said that he tried his level best to bring the powerful under the law and introduced programs to uplift the marginalized society that no one in the history of Pakistan.

 

No Surrender

The PTI leadership has summoned its workers to Islamabad in order to disrupt the polling process. According to sources, PTI supporters will be brought to the parliament gate and would use violence to prevent MNAs from entering the National Assembly.

They have been explicitly instructed not to allow Opposition MPs to vote inside Parliament, he continued.

While the opposition is keen to topple Imran Khan, Pakistan's army leader Qamar Javed Bajwa appears to have chosen an opportune moment to publicly break with the PTI administration.

Pakistani newspaper, the Dawn, wrote: "Determined to make his removal—if he is unable to prevent it—into a moment of political martyrdom, Khan has crafted a confrontational narrative that combines Islamic convictions with patriotic zeal."

According to the popular Pakistani newspaper, this is a risky move since it would incite the rage of the PTI's loyal followers, maybe resulting in street violence.

With the prime minister asking his electorate to show out in huge numbers before the vote to protest this 'plot,' things might quickly devolve into a hazardous situation, the Dawn reported.

There are worries that demonstrators would confront opposition and dissident MPs brutally before the vote.

The opposition has already raised worry about the safety of individuals attending today's session of parliament. One hopes that adequate precautions have been taken to prevent things from spiraling dangerously out of control.

 

Opposition Calls

According to Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the opposition has repeatedly urged Imran Khan to resign honorably and accept defeat.

"He should have submitted his resignation." Now that the vote [on the no-trust motion] is underway, it should be conducted in a calm manner. "It is regrettable that this defeated individual is attempting to destroy peace," he stated on Saturday evening during a news conference at Zardari House in Islamabad.

He said that Prime Minister Khan was attempting to provoke violence—if not outside, then inside parliament.

Imran Khan "would utilize show, exhibition, and use of force to subvert a constitutional, democratic, and peaceful handover of power." This is a significant problem.

Khan, Imran "would attempt to subvert a constitutional, democratic, and peaceful transfer of power by the presentation, use, and use of force This is a significant problem. Our highest institution is Parliament. It reflects the country's people", he explained.

"It is sad that no prime minister has ever been ousted constitutionally in the country's history. No roadblocks should be constructed now that we are democratically removing a Prime Minister," he stated.

Meanwhile, PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman told reporters that high-level constitutional posts were being manipulated to retain a single person in power.

She accused National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser of acting like a "Tiger Force activist," claiming that the PTI had instructed the speaker to tally the ballots improperly.

She also stated that the administration was considering utilizing the presidency to avoid the no-trust motion.

According to Sherry Rehman, the Constitution is explicit on the procedure for a no-trust petition, and the administration is attempting to employ all delaying methods to maintain power.

"They wanted to burn the entire country on fire after realizing their impending departure," she explained.