News Desk: After much drama, Imran Khan lost the confidence vote in Parliament in the middle of the night and had to take over the PM’s job.
The country once again saw an unexpired prime minister, who four years ago sat in the masnad dreaming of a “corruption-free new Pakistan”; The top leader of the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Imran, had to step down after losing a political game on Sunday.
The news agency Reuters writes that his government, which has just lost power, will be remembered mainly for aggravating the country’s economy; At the same time, there was a clear indication that they had lost the confidence of the influential military in the country’s politics.
Many Pakistanis have been swayed by the recent rise in inflation, the growing deficit, and the perception that Imran cannot keep his election campaign promises. That is what many have felt in the break-up of the ruling coalition.
Despite losing power, Imran does not seem to be losing ground in politics any time soon.
An aide to Imran called the move a “judicial coup” after the Supreme Court overturned a decision to dissolve parliament and ordered lawmakers to take part in a vote of confidence. And Imran said he would fight till the last ball.
The 69-year-old PTI leader has been added to the long list of Pakistan’s elected prime ministers who have not completed their term.
After gaining independence in 1947, no prime minister of the country has been able to fulfill his term; Although the team is heavy due to the addition of Imran, there is no one like him in one place; Earlier, none of the country’s prime ministers had to leave the mattress after losing a vote of confidence.
Imran, who captained Pakistan to the ODI World Cup in 1992, won the hearts and minds of many people in 2016 by dreaming of building a country free from corruption, rich, and respected by the world.
But Tukhor’s reputation as a nationalist and his charisma was not enough to keep him in power.
Imran once had to endure a lot of criticism for being in the shadow of Pakistan’s influential military; But after the ouster of the PTI leader, the issue of deteriorating relations between him and Army Chief Kamar Javed Bajwa has come up for discussion.
Pakistan’s most powerful military power has ruled the country for almost half of its history; Many of the country’s largest economic institutions are also under their control.
In recent times, Pakistan’s military has repeatedly said that it does not “interfere” in politics.
At a rally last month, Imran sharply criticized the army for pretending to be “neutral”.
“Only animals can be neutral,” he said.
“The army did not want them to be seen as supporters of Imran; He did not want them to be blamed for his failure, “said Shahid Khakan Abbas, Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Promise
The handsome and charismatic Imran first came to the notice of the world in the early 60s, as an aggressive fast bowler.
He once became the best all-rounder in the world and the ‘hero’ of cricket-mad Pakistan. He captained a whimsical team of star players at the 1992 World Cup, who had little ambition to win the title. At that time, Imran told his teammates to fight like a cornered tiger.
In the same year, after retiring from cricket, Imran got involved in various public welfare activities and raised কোটি 2.5 crores to build a cancer hospital in his mother’s name. Then came politics. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was formed in 1996.
Despite the huge popularity of Imran, the beginning of PTI faded. Apart from Imran’s seat, they have not won any other seat in the parliament for 17 years.
Imran Dewal, who was under house arrest during the 2007 crackdown on the opposition by then-military ruler General Pervez Musharraf, escaped.
Four years later, 2011 saw a huge turnout at Imran’s rallies; Pakistanis, plagued by widespread corruption, power shortages, education crises, and unemployment, began to have high hopes for the PTI leader.
In the years that followed, his support grew exponentially; Many educated expatriates left their jobs abroad and came to Pakistan to join Imran. The presence of pop singers and actors in the election campaign made him very popular among the youth.
At a public meeting in 2016, Imran said his goal was to transform Pakistan from a “little rich and extremely poor country” to a “humane, just Islamic welfare state” to the world.
After a long struggle, he was able to sit in the masnad of Pakistan that same year; He was included in the list of rare players who have also won the game of politics.
Observers, however, warned him at the time. He said that the talk of raising the expectations of the supporters will one day become his biggest enemy.
State-reformer from Playboy
Born in 1952, Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi’s father was a construction engineer; Growing up with four sisters in Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, Imran loved to wrap himself up as a child.
Imran, who holds degrees in philosophy, politics, and economics from Oxford University, has built a playboy image in his cricketing career.
There were rumors of love between many elite, rich, and star women with handsome Imran. Women were attracted to him for his ‘charismatic image’.
Imran was always in the headlines due to his outstanding performances on the cricket field and various incidents in the nightclubs of London.
In 1995, he married Jemima, the daughter of billionaire James Goldsmith; They separated after 9 years. Imran has two sons in that house.
For the second time, Imran married TV journalist Reham Nair, but that did not happen.
Imran’s current wife Bushra Bibi is a spiritual woman (Pir). The two are identified in a thirteenth-century shrine; Imran’s attraction toward Sufism is also understood in this incident.
After coming to power, Imran said he wanted to turn Pakistan into a “welfare” state. He valued merit rather than political influence in many important positions in government and sought to reform bureaucracy and government employment.
Made it easy for citizens to complain about anything; Also launched a universal healthcare project for the poor in a province; He also wanted the project to be implemented gradually across the country.
In the face of decades of deforestation in the country, the PTI government has launched a project to plant one billion trees.
To strengthen the crippled economy, Imran took a “U-turn” in some of his policies, including the bailout of the IMF for Pakistan. He also set some ambitious goals to increase tax collection.
But his anti-corruption campaign did not bring much success. Many have also accused Imran of using the campaign to crack down on political opponents.
The influence of Pakistani generals remained intact even during Imran’s tenure; PTI has also given responsibilities of various civilian organizations to many military officers who are in service or retired.
The rising cost of living in Pakistan in recent times, rising food prices, and the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar have also posed a major challenge to Imran.
Dramatic fall
Imran’s dahram-mahram with the army was never undiscussed. Opposition groups called for the beleaguered PM to resign.
At one point, the distance between the two military officers was smooth; There is talk in Pakistani politics that Bajwa is dissatisfied with Imran Fayez Hamid for taking his side.
According to the BBC, with Imran’s support, Fayez became so confident that he told Afghan officials that he was going to be the next Pakistani army chief.
An official close to the military said Fayez had taken care of “dirty deeds” such as using politicians and silencing critics, but many did not consider him “worthy” as the leader of an organization like the military.
In October last year, when Imran wanted to remove Bajwa from the post of ISI chief, Imran bent over backward. Many believe he wanted to keep Fayez until the next election; But in the end, Imran has to give up when he wants to play.
Opposition groups called for the beleaguered PM to resign.
Bajwa’s duality with Imran was also reflected in the Russia-Ukraine issue. In the last week of February, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, Imran landed in Russia.
Although many Western countries have blamed Russia for the attack on Ukraine, Imran has not followed suit. Russia did not join the sanctions.
A few days ago, Bajwa said that Russia’s attack on Ukraine should stop now.
Until then, however, the opposition has raised a no-confidence motion against Imran in parliament. Imran’s alliance has also broken down, with many in his party standing up against him.
Faced with a sure defeat in the confidence vote, Imran accused the United States of plotting to overthrow him. Based on the allegations, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament also rejected the no-confidence motion. The president then dissolved parliament in response to Imran’s call.
Pasha’s donation was overturned when the opposition approached the Supreme Court. After a four-day hearing, the Supreme Court asked Parliament to reconsider and hold a vote of confidence.
Although Parliament began on time, the session was repeatedly adjourned, with one dramatic incident after another unfolding on Saturday in an attempt to review the Supreme Court’s order. After the resignation of the speaker, a vote of confidence was held at midnight, so that the rate was accepted by the PTI chief.
Only time will tell if he will be able to fight like a tiger after this defeat.
