By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer

 

Pakistan which has rarely experienced political stability since its foundation in 1947 has seen the exit of yet another prime minister without completing his term. 

Sunday’s removal of Imran Khan Niyazi through a no confidence vote by the minimum majority of MPs following a high-pitched drama that saw the 342-seat Parliament dissolved by the President in a bid to save the Prime Minister and then restored to power by the Supreme Court in a few days, means that it is not the masses or the common man who control the destiny of Pakistan but persons with vested interests, the powerful military chiefs, and politicians influenced by foreign forces rather than concerned about the sovereignty of the country.

The flamboyant cricketer and a world-class all-rounder who as captain had led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 World Cup – the only instance for the country – has failed as a political leader to steer Pakistan to triumph through the maze of the national economy dominated by corrupt elements and on the international scene where there is no fair play because the US is the main spoilsport. 

As a matter of fact, it was the US through its vicious spin on the Pakistan pitch that brought about the dismissal of the master batsman who had skillfully played on different turfs of the cricketing world.

Imran Khan succumbed to US gamesmanship because of his refusal to bow to Washington’s dictates to cancel his scheduled state visit to Moscow on the threshold of the Ukraine crisis and his presence in the Russian capital when war started between the two Slavic countries.

He expressed regret when American pressures made the coalition allies of his Pakistan Tahreek-e Insaf (PTI) to withdraw support and render his party a minority in order to start the process of no confidence vote against him.

Perhaps it was his spirit of fair play that made him openly criticize US meddling in Pakistan’s affairs that the distanced the generals and the political elite from him because of the exposure of their unexplained awe of Washington despite the fact that various American administrations have never treated Pakistan fairly.

Thus, it seems it was Imran Khan’s independence stand and respect for national sovereignty that led to his exit from the political field, rather than what his critics allege to be a deepening economic crisis and double-digit inflation – factors that have always plagued Pakistan since its birth because of over-reliance on the Arab donors, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which use their monetary grants and loans as levers to deter Pakistan’s progress and development in spite of being a nuclear power. 

An example in this regard is Islamabad’s lack of guts to implement the peace pipeline project for import of natural gas from the Islamic Republic of Iran for national development because of not just American pressures but threats from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to cut all economic aid.

Imran may be back in the pavilion, but according to the Pakistani media, whatever his shortcomings, most Pakistanis still see him in the roles of a crowd-pulling cricketer, a philanthropist who built a famous cancer hospital in Lahore after retirement from sports, and a politician who was not allowed to carry out his reforms.