August 14, 1947 is considered as a red letter day for every Pakistani, as it is the day that Pakistan became a state and gained its independence from British India . After 67 years of independence, August 14, 2014 resulted in yet another sea of change in Pakistani politics which sees Imran Khan leading what he terms as a mass social awakening through his Azadi (Freedom) March.
Former cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and his party PTI (Pakistan tehreek-e-insaaf) had consistently asked the government to constitute tribunals and committees to investigate electoral fraud in four constituencies since the 2013 election results were announced. In making these demands, Khan reluctantly accepted the election results, albeit being consistently ridiculed by the PML-N government and ministers.
Khan had initially named this planned protest march “Tsunami march” but later changed the name to “Azadi march” (or the “Freedom march”) since its slated start date coincided with Pakistan’s 67th independence day August 14, 2014.
A year on, the PML-N government made no headway in this regard, and remained “hesitant in investigating the alleged rigging.” On the other hand, Khan had consistently presented proofs of electoral fraud in various constituencies. The PTI chief had also named the caretaker Punjab chief minister Najam Sethi and former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in facilitating fraud on the behest of PML-N in the past elections. Because of the lack of government initiative in opening investigation into allegations of electoral fraud, Khan gave the PML-N government a month to fulfil minimum 10 demands.
As soon as Khan announced his plans, Islamic cleric Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri’s political party Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) also announced a similar protest march. The PAT named their march “Inqilab march” so as not to be confused with the PTI protest march. Following these developments, speculations arose that the two marches might merge into one.
Nevertheless, where Qadri initially refused to join in with Khan’s protest and even considered changing the date and venue of his march, he later announced that his march would proceed on the same day, owing to the PTI chief’s increasing popularity and political stature. The announcement of this informal alliance and parallel marches imposed a much greater pressure on the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz; PML-N) government to curtail the parties’ aspirations.
Civil disobedience
American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau’s writing “Resistance to civil government” (“Civil Disobedience”) is an essay that was first published in 1849. In it, Thoreau argues that individuals should not permit governments to overrule or atrophy their consciences, and that they have a duty to avoid allowing such acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice. Thoreau was motivated in part by his disgust with slavery and the Mexican–American War.
Undoubtely, Imran Khan is a popular leader who is using an effective source to destabilise the government thorough civil disobedience. But does he ever bother to think how many people actually welcome his appeal? On the other hand, is he not going to be made fun of – in case of failure?
In 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, too, had applied the same source of disobedience against the then military ruler of West Pakistan, and he had succeeded hundred cent per cent because of the full support of the East Pakistani masses, the army, and even the judiciary. But here, with multi-national organisations and political parties having a different mindset, Khan’s call for disobedience will hardly work.
Khan’s and Qadri’s protest movements are not formally allied and have different goals, beyond toppling the government. But their combined pressure – and numbers – have given extra heft to the rallies. If one group were to reach a settlement with the government and withdraw, the other’s position would be significantly weakened.
Both movements have failed to mobilise mass support beyond their core followers and opposition parties have shunned Khan’s call to unseat the government and begin a campaign of civil disobedience
Imran’s way, Gandhi’s way
It appears that Imran and his advisers have little knowledge of history and particularly of Gandhi’s civil disobedience movements. On September 8, 1920 Gandhi moved a resolution in the Extraordinary Session of the Indian National Congress at Calcutta to launch the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Gandhi could not control the movement and when an unruly mob attacked a police station at Chouri Choura (a town in Eastern Uttar Pradesh) and set it on fire killing 24 policemen, Gandhi called off the movement. He apologised relented and went on a fast as penance.
August 17 was a sad day when Imran Khan decided to follow Gandhi by announcing the plan for a civil disobedience movement if his demands were not accepted. Imran must realise that politics is not cricket. It is not a sport. The most that can happen in sports is losing a match. In politics the well-being, the future, and sometimes the very existence of a nation are at stake.
Military engagements in Pakistani politics
Pakistan is not stranger to the military intervening in politics, and has gone through a number of coups in its short history. Since its independence in 1947, Pakistan has spent several decades under military rule (1958–1971, 1977–1988, 1999–2008). 2013 marked the first time in the history of the fledgling state where democratic elections were held and political power transferred from one civilian government to the next.
The commander in chief, General Raheel, has been watching the political upheaval quietly from the sidelines, hesitant to take any drastic action. The standoff has raised fears of possible military intervention – though analysts say the army is more likely to use the crisis to assert influence behind the scenes than stage an outright power-grab.
Although a full-blown coup d’etat looks unlikely – such a move could jeopardise billions of dollars in foreign assistance and trade deals – analysts say the crisis will leave Sharif weakened. “The protests rocking Islamabad threaten to upend the constitutional order, set back rule of law and open the possibility of a soft-coup, with the military ruling through the backdoor,” the International Crisis Group wrote.
Historically, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has a history of tasty relations with the military – his second term as prime minister ended abruptly in 1999 when then-army chief Pervez Musharraf seized power in a coup. His government is thought to have angered the military by pursuing criminal cases against Musharraf, including treason charges.
The PM has also pursued better relations with arch-rivals India, whose perceived military threat is an important justification for the Pakistani army’s large budget allocation.
Due to his political charisma, Imran Khan has always been a man of both action and rhetoric. Nonetheless, in this current stand-off, his actions have been much louder than his words, and without letting democracy run its due course in the country, Khan’s cries for a mass revolution and awakening seem like a mere mirage for a country such as Pakistan to endure.
Thus, time will tell if Pakistan is truly awakening, or if the Azadi March has proved to be nothing more than a waste of time, money and resources for a cause that appears worthy on paper but, for all practical reasons, lacking in substance.
