Political turmoil in Pakistan is at its peak. A united opposition is expected to allow the Speaker of the National Assembly to move a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan tomorrow. The opposition has also warned that they will stage a sit-in at the Secretariat if the Speaker refuses or delays accepting the motion. Let us tell you that the OIC Foreign Ministers’ Conference is also proposed here on 22-23 March. If the motion is accepted by the Speaker on Monday, then the vote on the no-confidence motion will be held in the House on March 28.
Political pressure is increasing on PM Imran Khan. Intelligence inputs indicate that four senior-most Pakistani Army generals, including Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and DG (ISI) Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, have asked Imran Khan to step down as prime minister after the OIC-FM conference. Even the much-publicised trump card of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, former army chief General Raheel Sharif, has clearly failed to mediate on behalf of Imran Khan with the army. It is also learned that General Sharif had gone to Pakistan to meet General Bajwa at the behest of Imran Khan, but he could not convince the Army Chief.
According to reports reaching Delhi, the Pakistan Army is united in its assessment that Imran Khan should step down as continued political turmoil is not in Pakistan’s interest. Let us tell you that Pakistan is already facing a serious economic crisis. The military is also angry with PM Imran Khan for taking unnecessary pot-shots against the US and EU over the Ukraine crisis and apparently ignoring him and Pakistan in Afghanistan despite Islamabad’s support in the West.
With the Pakistani army asking PM Imran Khan to resign after the OIC conference, opposition leaders have also stepped up activity.
There is talk in the political circles of Islamabad that PM Imran Khan may also sack General Bajwa, as the President of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in March 1972, acting Army Chief General Gul Hasan Khan and Air Force Chief Air Marshal Abdul Rahim Khan. was dismissed. However, for General Bajwa this possibility is of no importance at the moment. The current army chief has distanced himself from politics. He is not looking to replace the former Pakistan swing bowler.