Imran surrounded by fundamentalists

brahmdeep alune

Imran Khan’s short-sightedness, poor governance and lax policy towards terrorists are fueling political instability in the country. Due to this, the danger of the constitutional system being stalled and the fundamentalist forces getting strengthened is increasing continuously.

Supporters of religious anarchism are against a liberal and plural political system. Such individuals or groups want to overthrow the statutory government as unnecessary and undesirable. This is what is happening in the politics of Pakistan. Here in the political system there is no abstinence from religious, fundamentalist and orthodox organizations. When needed, political parties have been using them as a weapon to gain power.

In fact, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has played the political gambit of amnesty and release to deal with the violent movement of Tehreek-e-Labbaik, a banned religious and political organization of the country. For the past several decades, Pakistan’s political authorities have been showing signs of agreeing to the religious demands of radical forces, bypassing laws and constitutional rules. It has also been seen that there has been a great fusion between the army, ISI, religious, terrorist and political organizations in Pakistan and they are also very close to the supreme political power.

Tehreek-e-Labbaik was formed on August 1, 2015 in Karachi as an Islamic movement. This organization has emerged as a very influential religious and political organization in Pakistan, also known as Rasool Allah Islamic Organization, due to radical demonstrations and religious demands. It is demanding the implementation of Sharia law in the country. At the same time, there has also been a violent agitation demanding the end of Pakistan’s diplomatic relations with France. Significantly, the French government has been a vocal supporter of freedom of expression, while many Islamic countries of the world see it as blasphemy.

The French government has imposed many restrictions on Muslims in its place to prevent terrorist attacks. Religious organizations in Pakistan have been strongly opposing this. Imran Khan has publicly said that a move like sending back the French ambassador could worsen relations between Pakistan and France and could deepen Pakistan’s economic crisis. At the same time, the European Union clearly says that Pakistan should ensure compliance with international rules regarding the security of foreign institutions.

The challenge in front of Imran Khan remains to be taken out of Pakistan from the list of countries supporting terrorists. Staying on the watch list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is proving fatal for the country’s economy. Due to this, Pakistan is losing about ten billion dollars every year. Imran Khan is afraid that if FATF decides to blacklist Pakistan, the crisis on the economy will deepen.

In the midst of this economic crisis and violent demonstrations by radical forces, Imran Khan’s political behavior is also seen to be very poor. It is no secret that Imran Khan’s relationship with radical organizations and their support has played an important role in the speed with which Imran Khan has climbed the ladder of power. Despite global pressure, Imran Khan refrained from criticizing terrorists like Hafiz Saeed.

The role of Pakistan has been increasing doubts about Hafiz Saeed, declared an international terrorist by the United Nations. He was arrested several times and also released secretly. He was sentenced to more than ten years for terrorist financing. At the same time, a Pakistani court had sentenced this Mumbai attack conspirator to ten years imprisonment in two more cases. But even after all this, there was no change in the public life of Hafiz Saeed. It enjoys the most exclusive facilities and security in the country.

Imran Khan has also been criticized for his liberal treatment towards the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the terror outfit responsible for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. This terrorist organization wants to establish a radical Islamic regime based on Sharia in Pakistan. The TTP has a significant influence in the areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. This organization is accused of carrying out many incidents of extremism in Pakistan.

The TTP’s influence in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border areas has increased after the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan in August this year. A few days ago, instead of dealing strictly with TTP, Imran Khan had appealed that if people associated with TTP lay down their arms, they will be forgiven and they will be able to live like common people. It is noteworthy that on 16 December 2014, TTP attacked Army Public School in Peshawar and killed one hundred and thirty four children. After this, when Imran Khan had reached this school, the relatives of the children who died in the attack had demonstrated against him due to his lenient attitude towards the terrorists.

After taking power in the year 2018, Imran Khan was expected to rid the country of radical forces and establish it as a successful country. But his policies are proving to be pushing Pakistan into the trough. They also failed to maintain normal relations with the neighboring country due to their failure to prevent terrorist attacks on India. Dependence on China is becoming fatal for their country. It is being said about the Gwadar and China agreement in Pakistan that Pakistan has become an economic colony of China. China has given loans to Pakistan at high interest. In the coming times, the burden of Chinese debt on Pakistan will increase further.

Pakistan has been criticized around the world for the withdrawal of Taliban in Afghanistan. Anti-Pakistan slogans have been raised by taking out rallies among the citizens of Afghanistan. China has been helping Pakistan and using it against India, while Saudi Arabia can increase pressure on Pakistan to vocalize opposition to Iran through military and other means in return for financial help. Former US President Donald Trump had termed Pakistan a fraud and a liar in 2018. He had said that Pakistan was given billions of dollars in aid in the last years and it was a foolish decision. He had strongly criticized Pakistan for harboring terrorists from Afghanistan. Biden, the current US President, has also been skeptical about Pakistan’s intentions.

Imran Khan will have to control terrorist organizations in Pakistan to improve the country’s global image and save the country from debt. But they do not appear to have such political will. In order to escape and get rid of FATF sanctions, the Government of Pakistan has banned seventy-eight organizations. But neither the political offices of the organizations included in this list have been sealed nor have there been any restrictions on activities like collecting donations.

Imran Khan’s short-sightedness, poor governance and lax policy towards terrorists are fueling political instability in the country. Due to this, the danger of the constitutional system being stalled and the fundamentalist forces getting stronger is increasing continuously. Global terrorist organizations like ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizbul Mujahideen, Taliban and Al-Qaeda are already strong in Pakistan and they can increase the global security crisis uncontrollably.