Canada Global Tv: The attempted assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was stunning, if not unexpected. He claimed to have knowledge of a plot to kill him during a rally in his Mianwali, Pakistan, home district, early in October. He added that if it did, a film revealing their names would be made and that the motivation would be religious.
He accused Maryam Nawaz, the niece of the prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and the daughter of the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), Nawaz Sharif, of accusing him of blasphemy. In Pakistan, even the slightest hint of blasphemy can result in death.
Khan’s accusation appears to be supported by a confessional video of the alleged gunman on Thursday, Naveed Ahmed. He was a local of the neighbourhood where the rally was attacked, and instead of expressing guilt, he expressed regret over Khan’s leg injuries after being shot.
Ahmed said, “Imran Khan believes he is the Prophet. Videos of the head of the far-right political organisation Tehreek-e-Labbaik were apparently found on his phone (TLP). Blasphemy has been made a weapon by the TLP, and assassinations are ingrained in its DNA.
Mumtaz Qadri, who killed Salman Taseer, the governor of the Punjab, in 2011, is the symbol of the TLP. Taseer has been actively advocating for Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who had been sentenced to death after being found guilty of blasphemy, to be granted a presidential pardon. The large crowds at Qadri’s funeral, which were a sign of things to come for the TLP, were there when he was put to death for killing Taseer.
However, the circumstances behind Ahmed’s dismissal on Thursday are more complicated than they appear.
Prior to the 2018 election that put Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in office, the PMLN, which is still in power today, was frequently accused of blasphemy due to a law that had been approved in parliament.
Imran Khan and other party leaders had supported and encouraged demonstrators while the TLP had staged demonstrations. Former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal of the PMLN survived an assassination attempt just before the elections. The accused allegedly had a connection to the TLP. Even after the shooting, PTI leaders continued to use the religion card against their competitors as I followed them on the campaign trail in central Punjab.
Although Khan’s strategy is novel in Pakistan, the issues surrounding the assassination attempt against him and his falling out with the military establishment that supported his ascent to power in 2018 are all too familiar.
The military and the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif frequently disagreed, which resulted in a coup and two exiles. With the aid of the military, Benazir Bhutto was ousted from office multiple times. In addition, she said that Pervez Musharraf threatened her before her return to Pakistan and eventual murder. While Musharraf conceded that there may have been official participation in Bhutto’s death, her assailants were purportedly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. In her homicide case, he was listed as a wanted man. The investigation that followed reeked of a cover-up.
Since Khan’s assassination attempt, there have been isolated demonstrations across Pakistan, most notably in front of the home of the commander of the Peshawar Corps. Asad Umar, a prominent PTI politician, blamed Shehbaz Sharif, the current prime minister, and a serving general for the attack in a video message on behalf of Imran Khan. Fawad Chaudhry, a former information minister for the PTI, has demanded retaliation. Khan may not have the army on his side anymore, but he still enjoys widespread support and sympathy, and his party appears to be trying to seize the initiative.
Pakistan is on the cusp of something both new and old.
