Imran Khan The Game Changer
Those seeking diminution of the military and establishment’s role can draw some satisfaction from the fact that Pakistan’s institutions of state stand exposed for their machinations. But showing that the emperor has no clothes does not mean that the emperor’s power has evaporated Since 1958, the all-powerful military-intelligence combine has effectively run Pakistan, occasionally with a democratic façade. The hybrid model of governance requires that civilian politicians agree to operate within parameters determined by what Pakistanis euphemistically refer to as “the establishment”. It also depends on some level of secrecy for military manipulation and manoeuvres in the political arena. Since his ouster as Prime Minister in April 2022 through a parliamentary vote of no confidence, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has refused to play by the establishment’s rules. The ubiquity of social media has made it difficult to maintain absolute secrecy of the establishment’s ...
Comments