The swift political developments in Pakistan on Sunday have seen the end of the Imran Khan-led governance started in 2018, but the Opposition has less reason to cheer. The rejection of the no-confidence motion against Khan by deputy speaker of the national assembly, citing flimsy grounds, was unexpected but part of a counter-offensive by the cricketer-turned politician. While creating conditions for early elections to the national assembly, Khan has thrown the ball back into the people’s court and perhaps cunningly projected a narrative that the no-confidence motion brought forward by the Opposition was done at the behest of a foreign power – the United States. This could put the Opposition on the defensive in the run-up to the polls that’s promised in three months’ time.
Anti-US sentiments are strong in Pakistan in recent decades, also as Americans were seen to be playing games against both Pakistan and Afghanistan through the War on Terror – that ran parallel to the sprouting of Islamic militancy in the geopolitical region. The US had used Pakistan to drive away Russians from Afghanistan, but those like Osama bin Laden it had trained and sent to the region for this purpose eventually turned against the US once the Russians exited from the scene. Laden later began targeting the US and used his Al Qaeda to inflict lasting wounds on the US through the 9/11 attacks. Yet, the huge financial and military aid that Pakistan received from the US, in iterations, to carry forward the War on Terror since 9/11 proved to be a lure to the Pakistani establishment. It used these huge financial allocations and hi-tech weapons from the US supplies, instead, to strengthen its military might against India.
The foreign policy shifts that Khan sought to effect in recent years have not gone unnoticed. It is not easy to run with the hare and hunt with the hound for long. Yet, Khan strengthened Pakistan’s ties with China and went one step ahead to establish stronger relations with Russia. Notably, when Vladimir Putin launched the invasion on Ukraine, Khan was scouting around through Moscow. Ably guided by the Pakistani military generals, Khan has also been meddling with Afghanistan’s affairs such as to neutralize the influence that India had with the landlocked nation. While Imran Khan somewhat saved his face now and even as the national assembly is dissolved, it will be worth watching as to who will have the last laugh there. In all fairness, Khan was a ‘bearable’ adversary for India in Pakistan.
