A new dangerous turn

Pakistan’s most popular leader, Imran Khan, luckily survived an assassination attempt, but a red-line has been crossed, which has intensified the simmering political polarization and added to the prevalent uncertainty and instability in the country.

The former premier was targeted at a political rally on November 3 in Wazirabad, Punjab. Shots rang out while Imran Khan stood on a container truck while leading his anti-government long march towards Islamabad. He suffered bullet wounds to the legs and was taken to hospital where he is in stable condition. Several of Imran Khan’s senior party colleagues were also injured, while one person was killed in the attack.

As expected, soon after the attack, emotionally-charged protesters came out in all the major Pakistani cities including Karachi, Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Lahore and Peshawar. The protesters blocked roads, burned tyres and chanted anti-government slogans as some tried to march towards the residences’ of senior government officials. The public mood was ominous, but luckily the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership showed utmost maturity and restraint due to which these protests did get out of hand.

However, the federal ministers, including Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, left no stone unturned to stoke emotions of the PTI followers and leaders by their irresponsible and provocative remarks and statements. Rather than ensuring an independent inquiry into the incident, there were attempts to blame the victim and his aides for not ensuring proper security. Many pro-government Twitter and other social media accounts were fanning conspiracy theories, including the most absurd one that the attack was self-inflicted.

Then the Shehbaz government officially tried to sell the story that the attack was an individual act following the arrest of one suspect. Within a short span, the pro-government social media accounts were sharing a confessional video of the suspect in which he took responsibility for the attack. This shows that without any proper investigations and following any basic procedures, the government wants to sell a particular narrative which has been rejected by the PTI and the public at large.

Now emotions are running high. People want to know who was behind this attack; how many people were involved and what their motive was. Video footage shows at least one gunman, who was tackled by a PTI supporter as he fired toward Imran Khan’s convoy.

This suggests that the attack could have been much worse. The PTI officials say that the bullets came from more than one direction. Therefore, this incident needs a thorough investigation.

However, there is also a political dimension to this episode, which cannot be ignored. The obvious outcome of the attack on Imran Khan is that Pakistan’s political environment – which has remained supercharged for months — has reached a crucial and potentially explosive point from which there is no turning back.

The attack on Imran Khan is seen as a “red line” by his large and fast expanding support base, which challenges the very legitimacy of the Shehbaz Sharif government and is not ready to accept it in power.

The public anger against Shehbaz and the entire Sharif clan — who since coming into power in April managed to manipulate, dilute and get rid of all the mega-corruption cases filed against them – is growing.

The unpopularity and corruption of the House of Sharifs is also hurting the image of the state institutions, which spearheaded the anti-corruption narrative and won public confidence and praise for it across Pakistan.

Therefore, the state’s response to this complicated situation will go a long way toward determining what comes next. One thing is clear that the government’s high-handed actions and crackdown on Imran Khan and his supporters have further galvanized them, and increased his popularity.

This is evident from his rallies which attract massive crowds, and the results of by-elections across Pakistan.

The public mood is in favour of snap polls which alone can help pull the country out of the present mess and eventually take it towards political and economic stability.

Under these circumstances many Pakistanis are right in expecting that the country’s most powerful and organized institution – the Pakistan Army – will play its role in line with the aspirations of the masses and help resolve the political logjam.

The Pakistan Army alone has the capacity and ability to ensure a rapid de-escalation in the political temperatures and pave the way for free and fair general elections.

The decision-makers of this institution – rightly called the center of gravity of Pakistan – have the burden of public expectations on their shoulders. The military leaders must carry the cross for the sake of Pakistan and ensure that they, even by mistake, are not seen as protectors, or sponsors of what the Supreme Court of Pakistan once described as the Sicilian mafia.

Pakistan needs political stability and normality at every cost, which is impossible under the most corruption-tainted family at the helm of affairs.