The political temperature across the country has started to rise with the PTI holding rallies, hitting hard against the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government, while the latter fires its own salvo of broadsides against the opposition. Ever since his ouster through a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly, Imran Khan has repeatedly dismissed Shehbaz Sharif’s government, terming it “imported”.
The former PM continues to maintain that the no-confidence motion against him was part of a foreign conspiracy, claiming that the cable received from Pakistan’s ambassador to the US on March 7, a day before the opposition officially filed the no-trust move against him, was evidence of the conspiracy.
However, a candid admission exposed Khan’s inability to navigate the ‘regime change conspiracy’ to a logical end. During a recent podcast, the ousted prime minister stated that he had wanted Gen Faiz to continue as spy chief because he was aware that his political rivals were planning to topple his government, and he wanted the former spymaster to act as the government’s “eyes and ears” as their plot played out.
Imran’s acknowledgment that he had been aware of the then opposition’s plans to overthrow him since July of last year and subsequent plan to use the ISI chief to counter the move distinguish his more recent claims about the circumstances of his ouster. People should ask why he insists he was ousted through an ‘international conspiracy’ when apparently he had been aware for months of the opposition’s plans.
Imran Khan’s reason behind his ouster has inadvertently brought to light one of the traditional roles played by the security establishment in the ‘management’ of domestic politics. With his remarks, the former prime minister has now himself suggested that his government survived as long as it did thanks to the support of non-political forces.
The logic of the ‘conspiracy theory’ gets fuzzier the more Mr Khan speaks on the topic. His remarks suggest that he was denied the support of the country’s spy chief in the midst of a foreign conspiracy and he failed to counter the opposition in the absence of support from powerful quarters.
In the absence of any credible evidence, it is hard to digest the ‘foreign conspiracy’ theory. But for argument’s sake, even if there was one, does it absolve the government of its utter failure on multiple counts while it was in office? Questionable policymaking, bad governance, stubbornness, indecision, and minimal consultation were the characteristics of the government which would have failed on its own anyway.
Even, the National Security Committee —country’s highest security forum — has unequivocally stated that it does not believe there was an international conspiracy to dislodge Imran Khan from PM House. It is clear that Imran Khan made selfish political use of secret diplomatic communication to squeeze his way back into power.
It is true that the US does indeed have a history of meddling in Pakistan’s internal affairs both overtly and covertly. However, an act of interference is quite different from an act of conspiracy. Khan’s gamble would also entail choosing a collision course with the military because he will now have to proclaim that the military is not telling the truth.
