Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan November 4, 2022 after being injured in an attack the day before. MOHSIN RAZA / Portal
Imran Khan is playing the scorched earth policy on the risk of throwing Pakistan into chaos. The former Prime Minister threatened on Friday December 23 with the dissolution of two of the four regional assemblies his party runs directly or with allies, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Punjab represents half of Pakistan’s population, 110 million out of 220 million. This operation with random results is part of the showdown the former prime minister has been waging with Shehbaz Sharif’s government for the past eight months to demand snap elections.
The former cricket champion, who was ousted from power after a vote of no confidence in Parliament in April, says he has been the victim of a political frame-up and is demanding that the people settle. The government refuses because its opponent enjoys phenomenal popularity. Since stepping down from power, he has mobilized huge crowds. On November 3, he was the victim of an attack at the head of a march towards Islamabad. Injuring his leg, he was forced into forced rest.
Pakistan’s regional assemblies, four in number, have considerable powers and organizing elections would be an arduous process for the government as the country is gripped by an unprecedented political, environmental, economic and security crisis. To justify his call for elections, Imran Khan says he fears that by October, the scheduled date for parliamentary elections, “Pakistan will reach a point of no return.” “The concern is that our economy is collapsing, it’s going into a tailspin,” he told foreign journalists.
On the security front, Pakistan paid dearly for the Taliban’s return to Afghanistan when it rejoiced in the days of Imran Khan, the fall of Kabul and the departure of Westerners
The economy is in very bad shape, weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic, by the consequences of the war in Ukraine on energy costs and by the major floods in the summer of 2022, which submerged a third of the country and caused losses estimated to $40 billion (38 Billion euro). On Wednesday, Pakistan’s prime minister urged the international community to provide his country with much-needed aid. “Even today, 20 million flood victims urgently need humanitarian aid,” said Sharif during a visit to the southern province of Sindh. As he recalled, snow began to fall in some areas, adding to the difficulties faced by the population.
You have 50.12% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.