Malik M. Ashraf
Reportedly, Noreen Khan, sister of Imran Khan, in a message to workers of PTI from outside Adiala Jail on Tuesday, asked them to shut KPK completely on 8th February and also occupy Tarbela Dam to cut off the power supply. She said, “Do something bigger.” She probably thinks that enacting yet another horrible attack on the state, like 9th May would put pressure on the government to release Imran Khan. The party does not seem to have learnt from the repercussions of 9th May, which has led to the incarceration of hundreds of its workers and some second-tier leaders, and could have dire consequences for the founding chairman himself for having masterminded the attack.
Inciting workers to violence and challenging the writ of the state is indeed a very serious crime that the state will never tolerate or allow. The founding chairman has been convicted on charges of corruption by the courts of law and his release is only possible through the judiciary. He is not a political prisoner. The party is surely treading a wrong path fraught with disastrous consequences. His case is better left to the courts.
Another regrettable reality is that the party continues to build an anti-Army narrative and express solidarity with the terrorists who are carrying out their nefarious attacks at the behest of our archenemy India and the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Terrorism poses an existential threat to Pakistan, and it is because of the unparalleled sacrifices rendered by our security forces and law-enforcing agencies that their nefarious designs are being thwarted. Showing sympathy or solidarity with such elements amounts to disloyalty to the state.
The resurgence of terrorism in Pakistan, particularly KPK, is a sequel to bringing back TTP terrorists and resettling them during the PTI rule. They had been pushed out of the country during Operation Zarb-e-Azb. The party has been in power in the province for the last thirteen years. Its persistent opposition to action against TTP terrorists by security forces and non-cooperation with the federal government on the issue is undoubtedly providing a helpful political environment to the terrorists for carrying out their sinister designs against Pakistan, as rightly observed by DG ISPR in his presser on 6th January. It was not a political talk. The statement was based on credible intelligence reports.
While addressing a press conference at Corps Headquarters Peshawar on 24th October 2024, he mentioned four reasons behind the burgeoning acts of terrorism, which according to him were: non-implementation of the National Action Plan in totality, politicising the issue of terrorism, India using Afghanistan as a base of operation for terrorism in Pakistan, the provision of modern weapons to terrorists in Afghanistan, and above all the existence of a terrorism–crime nexus that has complete local political backing.
The Chief Minister of KPK, Sohail Afridi, is not letting go of any opportunity to build anti-Army sentiments, as is evident from the situation in the Tirah Valley. The issue of seasonal and historic migration from that area during the extreme winter is being politicised, blaming the Army for seeking evacuation to carry out military operations against the terrorists in that area.
The fact of the matter is that there is no military operation being carried out in the valley, as stated by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif at a press conference on Tuesday. He dismissed reports of a military operation in Tirah Valley, saying that no such operation has taken place in the area for several years and that recent displacement is a routine, seasonal process linked to harsh winter conditions. He further revealed that the provincial government had allocated Rs 4 billion to support displaced families. The notification for relocating these families was issued after consultations between the provincial government and a local Jirga. The fact is that the Army is carrying out intelligence-based operations in the area, and it has not asked for the evacuation of the population.
Political analysts and those savvy with the conditions in the valley are of the opinion that the anti-Army narrative is being built to protect the nexus between drugs and crime. Reportedly, poppy is cultivated on approximately 12,000 acres of land in the Tirah Valley. They link terrorism in KPK directly to the illicit narco-economy in the region. Reports suggest that this large area is used for drug cultivation, which operates under the patronage of criminal elements enjoying political backing.
Indications are that the anti-establishment propaganda is also meant to garner support for the February 8 call by PTI and its allies for a complete shutdown strike across the country, more so in KPK.
However, it is a considered view of the intellectual circles and political analysts that PTI’s confrontational strategy is not going to succeed, and it will prove to be yet another big embarrassment for the party and its allies. This assessment is based on the failed attempts by the party to foment chaos and crisis. Sisters of Imran have been regularly staging sit-ins outside Adiala Jail, and their appeals to the workers to join them have not been heeded. According to the media, the attendance has never been beyond a few hundred. This fact has been lamented by none other than Aleema Khan herself.
It is also a prevailing view that there is an exaggerated assessment of the popularity of the founding chairman of the party. When he himself led the marches, the attendance was never more than twenty thousand, although he boasted of bringing millions onto the streets. He undeniably has a considerable following in the country, but not to the extent of pulling off a revolution, as his social media wizards project him to be. The myth of his popularity has also been exploded in the by-elections held during the last two years. PTI is a one-man party, actually, and none of the leaders among its ranks has the stature of a national political leader.
PTI is well advised to abandon its pro-TTP stance and confrontation with the establishment and the federal government. There is no way it can achieve anything through confrontation and challenging the writ of the state. The Chief Minister of KPK also needs to rethink his stance and give preference to state interests, failing which his own position might be in jeopardy, besides irrevocable damage to the party, because Pakistan comes first.
The writer is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at ashpak10@gmail.com
