Twenty-two! We go to (our) house, if we fry the murki-murki, we eat it crispy. With a slight change of words, it was a rhythm for us to learn to count with fun in childhood. However, this twenty-two seems to be on all sides of someone’s life. As seen with the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan.
Imran, who has a 22-yard cricket pitch, has also hit sixes in his political career. He formed a political party and came to power at the age of 22. Became the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan. He also faced a power shake in 22 (2022). The first three figures say 22 is like a magic number for Imran. Maybe with this ‘magic word’ he will overcome the ongoing drought. If all goes well, the 18th National Election of Pakistan 2023 is going to be held in advance this year in 2022.
Before entering politics, Imran was an all-rounder on the cricket field. He may have entered the field of politics within four years of winning the World Cup to better develop his craft. He formed the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 1996. After 22 years, he became the 22nd Prime Minister of the country in 2016.
In the beginning, Imran did not get much advantage in the field of politics. Until 2002, his party did not win any seats in parliament. In the 2002 elections, Imran was the first person to win as a PTI candidate. His party did worse than expected from opinion polls, which saw them at gaining about a third of the seats. But in the general election of 2013, Imran’s party started to rise. PTI did not emerge as the second largest party in that election for a short time. However, Imran did not make a mistake in hitting sixes in the July 2016 elections. His party did worse than expected from opinion polls, which saw them at gaining about 117 seats out of 262. Although many political analysts have argued for historical reasons, all of this is the charisma of military uniforms. No Pakistani prime minister has completed his five-year term. The same thing happened with Imran in the ongoing incident.
Opposition parties have filed a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan’s coalition government in parliament on March 8 over economic woes and misguided foreign policy. At one stage, the government lost a majority in the National Assembly (lower house of parliament) when the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), an important ally of the PTI government, joined the opposition. It was only a matter of time before Imran lost his prime ministership in a no-confidence vote. But the latter is more dramatic. President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on Sunday (March 3rd) on the recommendation of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The major political upheaval in Pakistan came soon after Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri rejected a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran, calling it “unconstitutional”. Now constitutionally new elections are supposed to be held within 90 days. Imran Khan will be the head of the interim government at this time.
But the opposition is not sitting still. They have resumed the session of the legislature. In addition to declaring the deputy speaker’s no-confidence motion illegal, they have named opposition leader and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shahbaz Sharif as the new prime minister. The opposition needed 162 votes in the 342-seat National Assembly in a no-confidence vote. Shahbaz’s party says the no-confidence motion was supported by 164 lawmakers.
Imran has been successful for the time being by overcoming the no-confidence vote in the dramatic end. But his real success depends on how much space he can get in the next election.
Opponents allege that Imran failed to revive the economy and failed to eradicate corruption. As a result, he is not fit to stay in power. However, Imran has been saying that foreign powers are working hard from behind to oust him. In particular, he mentions the name of the United States. The United States has denied the allegations. Pakistan abstained from voting on a US resolution on the Russia-Ukraine war brought to the UN General Assembly. During the Ukraine war, Imran went to Moscow and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Many analysts say that is why the United States is angry with Imran Khan. According to Imran Khan, US officials have warned Pakistani diplomats that he (Imran) must be removed from power because of a foreign policy decision.
Person Imran has to be honest till now. The main target of Imran Khan, who came to power with anti-corruption slogans, was the middle class and relatively young generation inside the country. For example, he campaigned against corruption and familism in politics.
Promised in the 15th National Election Campaign, clean people will be established in politics by going beyond family system. He promised to build a Pakistan where there would be no crisis of currency, water and electricity. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter were implicated in the Panama Papers scandal. The main obstacle at that time was the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) falling into a kind of trap. On the other hand, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) could not raise its head against Imran. Because there are also allegations of corruption against the top leadership of this party. Now the question is, how many field votes will PML (Nawaz) -PPP actually get in the upcoming elections. Or are they going to get the blessings of the country’s army this time. Opponents have said that the military shadow has been removed from Imran’s head.
In political science, the discussion of elite theory speaks of two types of people in the cycle of power. One type is brave. Another kind of cunning. Personally, I want to put Imran Khan in the second row. Because in the early stages of politics, Imran used his player popularity. His call for anti-corruption movement became especially popular among the youth.
Imran also used self-contradictory tactics to gain a foothold in politics. Imran, known as a ‘playboy’ who lives in a western setting, is sometimes seen in a very conservative role. Growing up in European civilization, Imran sharply criticized Western ideas. He has been involved in anti-terrorism campaigns as well as sponsoring extremist armed groups in the country. By marrying Bushra Maneka, he also took the blessings of the devotees of the spiritual leaders of Pakistan. And while in power, Imran did not tidy the field of his politics? I don’t think so.
Imran, who holds a degree from the world-renowned University of Oxford, has made it clear that his political knowledge is no less. But the country is Pakistan. So it is not clear what will happen next. Meanwhile, the Russia-Ukraine war is seemingly dreamy. Maybe Imran will restore his relations with the United States in 90 days. Bajimat will show again. Another 22 feathers of fortune will be added to his life.