Pakistani generals determined to destroy the country to maintain their illegal control

Developing Just Leadership

Crescent International

Shawwal 24, 1444 2023-05-14

Daily News Analysis

by Crescent International

Pakistan is hurtling toward a point of no-return.

At the root lies the fact that a small coterie of army generals refuses to abide by any rules.

They want to play gods and insist they must determine who can rule in Pakistan.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan is challenging them, saying that based on the Constitution, the people must decide who should rule the country. Further, that Pakistan should not get involved in America's wars whether in Afghanistan or elsewhere.

For holding such views, Imran Khan was removed from office on April 9, 2022 in which then army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa played a leading role.

He installed a bunch of criminals, rapists, thieves and murderers in power.

This criminal gang has destroyed Pakistan’s economy and brought it to the brink of default.

There have been numerous attempts on Imran Khan’s life that he miraculously survived.

More than 150 cases, all completely bogus, have been registered against him in different parts of the country.

The latest case relates to Al-Qadir Trust.

What is Al-Qadir Trust and who are its trustees?

It is a trust that established Al-Qadir University in Sohawa, near Jhelum.

The land for the Trust, 458 Kanals, was provided by Malik Riaz, a self-made tycoon who is involved in real estate development.

Malik Riaz is a crook.

He was charged with embezzlement of billions of rupees and fined by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Many generals are in his pocket because he bribes them with palatial homes.

He made a deal with NAB to return 190 million pounds.

He asked that the charges against him should be dropped.

The money that was returned to Pakistan was used to build Al-Qadir University.

Imran Khan’s opponents accuse him of using this money illegally to build the university.

This is a totally bogus charge.

Imran Khan and his wife have not benefitted personally from these funds, unlike the crooks ruling the country.

It was agreed in the cabinet meeting presided over by Imran Khan that the funds should be used to build the university which is currently open and students are being taught.

It is an insult to people’s intelligence to make such allegations against Imran Khan who, before becoming prime minister, had built the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital in Lahore, and built Gomal University.

The bunch of criminals imposed on the country, far from doing anything positive, have only stolen wealth from Pakistan.

On May 9, Imran Khan was kidnapped from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) where he had come to appear to submit his response to these ludicrous charges.

Pakistani commandos dressed as Rangers, a paramilitary force, attacked and kidnapped him.

They dragged him away, alleging that he was involved in a corruption case regarding Al-Qadir Trust.

His bodyguards and his defence lawyers were also attacked.

Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly), the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court, Justice Aamer Farooq said Imran Khan’s arrest was “legal”.

Much confusion also surrounded the whereabouts of Imran Khan and who had taken him.

First, the illegitimate regime operatives said he was in NAB custody.

Later, they said he was in police custody.

It then transpired that he was under ISI control.

He was locked up in a room without bed or mattress.

His cell phone was also taken away from him.

He was given no food or water and could also not use the washroom for 24 hours.

His arrest sparked countrywide protests including attack on the Corps Commander’s house in Lahore and the GHQ (General Headquarters) in Rawalpindi.

The Corps Commander, Lt Gen Salman Fayyaz Ghani and his family were in the house.

Evidence has emerged that the attack on his house was hatched by the army chief, Asim Munir.

This was part of the criminal conspiracy to have General Salman Ghani killed by the mob and use his murder as a pretext to declare Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI), the party Imran Khan leads, as a terrorist organization and ban it from contesting elections.

Despite calls by General Salman and his staff of GOC 10 Division, GOC 11 Division and DG Rangers, nobody answered the phone.

Equally revealing was the fact that leading to the Corps Commander’s house are multiple checkpoints by the army, police and Rapid Response Force (a special army unit for such emergencies).

There was nobody at these checkpoints to block the mobs’ march toward his house.

On May 11, Imran Khan appeared before the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The three-member bench declared his arrest was illegal.

It was a slap in the face of the IHC justice.

Still, the Supreme Court ordered that Imran Khan be kept in the Police Lines guest house but he would be under the Supreme Court protection.

It also ruled that he should be allowed to receive 10 visitors of his choice.

He should appear before the IHC the following day (May 12) to resume hearings into his case.

He duly complied and the judges granted him bail and ordered that he should not be arrested on any charges until May 17.

Following his release, Imran Khan drove to Lahore where he reached in the early morning of May 13.

Later in the day, Imran Khan delivered a stern warning to the army chief, chairman of NAB (retired Lt Gen Nazir Ahmed) as well as DG-ISI counterintelligence, Major General Faisal Naseer.

Imran Khan did not mince words.

He was especially scathing in his criticism of NAB operatives who on orders from NAB chief, attacked his house in Zaman Park to harass his wife, Bushra Bibi.

He asked, how would you feel if your female members were harassed in such a manner?

The army chief Asim Munir, and armed forces spokesman Major General Ahmed Chaudhry retorted equally forcefully.

The army chief declared said we (meaning the army but more particularly he) would decide who is to be the prime minister of Pakistan.

Some commentators say Munir is an illegal occupant of the post of army chief.

He should have retired from the armed forces on November 27, 2022 but was appointed army chief on November 29.

This was done through an underhand deal between the former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and the convicted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who escaped to London and is still hiding there.

On what authority does Asim Munir claim that he will decide who is to be prime minister?

This mindset is the root cause of the troubles Pakistan has faced since the early days of its creation.

Let us identify the army generals spearheading this destructive policy in Pakistan.

They are: army chief Asim Munir, Chief of General Staff at the GHQ, Lt Gen M Saeed, DG-ISI, Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, DG-ISI counterinsurgency, Maj Gen Faisal Naseer and Maj Gen Inayat Hussain, vice chief of general staff.

Inayat Hussain was in charge of security at Army Public School in Peshawar when hundreds of children were murdered by Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan in December 2014.

Either these generals conduct themselves within the constitution or they will destroy what remains of Pakistan.

On past evidence, there appears little reason to be optimistic.

The generals only know how to destroy. That’s what they are trained to do.

They are so deeply involved in corruption that they cannot imagine life without their privileges and perks.

Anyone who questions their plunder has to be eliminated.

Scores of PTI leaders and hundreds of workers have been arrested.

Journalists critical of military role in the country's politics are arrested. Some (like Arshad Sharif) have been murdered.

At least 50 to 70 people have been shot and killed since May 9.